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Alleged Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter texted his family, “Dad went to war last night” hours after his deadly shooting spree early Saturday, according to federal prosecutors.

The madman — who killed a state representative and her husband and wounded another pol and his wife at their homes — sent the chilling message to wife and other relatives in a group thread around 6:15 a.m. that day, a criminal complaint said.


  Security camera footage of Vance Boelter taken before the shooting. District Court of Minnesota Security camera footage of Vance Boelter taken before the shooting. District Court of Minnesota

  A masked Boelter knocking on at the beginning of the shooting spree. District Court of Minnesota A masked Boelter knocking on at the beginning of the shooting spree. District Court of Minnesota

“Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” Boelter, 57, allegedly wrote.

He also sent an apologetic message to his wife around the same time.

“Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” he wrote, according to the documents.

Authorities who searched Jenny Boelter’s car as they hunted down the alleged killer found $10,000 in cash and passports for her and at least some of the couple’s kids, who were in the car with her at the time of the traffic stop, according to the documents. Boelter has previously said he and his wife have five children, according to the New York Times.

He is now facing federal and state charges in the murder of former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and in the non-fatal shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette — raps that could land him the death penalty.


  A masked Vance Boelter is seen before he allegedly fatally shot a Democratic lawmaker. FBI A masked Vance Boelter is seen before he allegedly fatally shot a Democratic lawmaker. FBI

The suspect meticulously planned the shocking attack — with some of his handwritten notebooks showing he jotted down details about many politicians he had on his radar, the feds alleged.

Beneath Hortman’s name, a notation allegedly read “married Mark 2 children 11th term” with another scrawling in a separate notebook saying, “Big house off golf course 2 ways in to watch from one spot,” apparently describing the lawmaker’s home.

He also wrote down a myriad of Internet-based people search engines that aggregate data for a person’s home address, phone numbers and relatives, court docs said.  


  Boelter texted his family, “Dad went to war last night” hours after his deadly shooting spree early Saturday, according to federal prosecutors. via REUTERS Boelter texted his family, “Dad went to war last night” hours after his deadly shooting spree early Saturday, according to federal prosecutors. via REUTERS

Boelter first targeted Hoffman, claiming he was a police officer when he knocked on his door, according to the complaint. When the pol and his wife realized the suspect wasn’t a cop and was wearing a mask, Boelter allegedly claimed he was robbing them and opened fire, injuring them.

He went to two other homes after that shooting, but one unidentified lawmaker wasn’t home and the other, state Sen. Ann Rest, had an officer in front of her home.

He then moved on Hortman’s home, where he ran into the house as cops arrived and pulled the trigger, killing her and her husband, the feds said.

Follow the latest on the arrest of suspected Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter:

Hours following the gunfire, he went to a local bank wearing a cowboy hat and emptied an account in his name, using some of the funds to buy an old Buick and an e-bike from an unidentified individual.

The Buick was later spotted abandoned on Highway 25 early Sunday, with authorities finding a note to the FBI inside.

The writer of the letter claimed his name was “Dr. Vance Luther Boelter” and he said he was “the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings the morning of Saturday June 15th,” the complaint states.

His LinkedIn page claimed he earned a doctorate in leadership for the advancement of learning and service from Cardinal Stritch University, which closedin 2023.

Boelter was finally captured about a mile from his family home, authorities said.

He appeared in federal court for the first time Monday afternoon and was ordered to be held without bail.

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