Minnesota lawmaker who survived shooting shares harrowing account of how the attack unfolded
Gun violenceFacebookTweetLink
Follow
Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, shared details of the harrowing morning nearly a week ago when a man in a silicone mask who knocked on their door and identified himself as a police officer shot them repeatedly.
In a statement released Thursday night and obtained by CNN affiliate KARE, the couple publicly describes for the first time the targeted shooting in their Champlin, Minnesota, home that left them critically injured.
The night before the shooting, the Hoffmans had returned home from a dinner hosted by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and went to bed, the statement said. But they were awakened around 2 a.m. Saturday by someone pounding on the front door and shouting, asking to enter and identifying himself as a police officer, the family recounted.
When the door opened, the couple and their adult daughter, Hope, were standing in the entryway. When the shooter pointed a gun directly at John Hoffman, the senator lunged at the gunman, and he was shot nine times, according to the statement.
'As John fell, Yvette reached out to push the man and shut the door,' and 'she was also hit eight times by gunfire,' the statement said.
That's when Hope Hoffman raced to shut the door and secure the lock. She then called 911, telling the operator the senator had been shot in his home, triggering 'the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway,' the family said.
Prosecutors say suspected gunman Vance Boelter visited the homes of at least four Minnesota lawmakers, attempting to kill the Hoffmans and fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.
After the shooting, both John and Yvette Hoffman underwent surgery, according to officials. John Hoffman 'is in critical but stable condition; Yvette Hoffman is in stable condition, as well,' the family statement said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters at an event Thursday he expected Yvette Hoffman to be released from the hospital that day. No one by Yvette's name is currently at Mercy Hospital, where she had been treated after the shooting, a spokesperson with Allina Health told CNN.
Earlier this week, Yvette Hoffman told US Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a text message that she and her husband were 'incredibly lucky to be alive,' Klobuchar shared on her social media. Yvette said at the time her husband had endured 'many surgeries' and is 'closer every hour to being out of the woods.'
Boelter, 57, allegedly had a hit list of dozens of targets, which were largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, officials said. The search for Boelter lasted 43 hours and was the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. He faces six federal charges and four state charges.
The Hoffman family said in their statement they are deeply grateful 'for the first responders and for all those in law enforcement who worked so quickly, professionally and selflessly to safeguard others and to apprehend the shooter, starting with our own officers in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.'
They added that they are 'heartbroken' by the killing of Melissa and Mark Hortman. Hope Hoffman went to school with their daughter, Sophie Hortman. 'We know that they – along with Colin Hortman - will have each other's support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night,' John and Yvette Hoffman said.
A GoFundMe account benefiting the Hoffman family was set up by Fernbrook Elementary School. The family said it will help them 'pick up the broken pieces of our lives.'
'We are uplifted by the prayers and support from so many across the state of Minnesota and the country: thank you,' the family said.
While they realize that working in the public sector means sacrificing a certain level of privacy, the Hoffmans said they are now 'grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn't like what you stand for.'
'As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully,' the statement said. 'The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
3 hours ago
- Fast Company
Trump rollback on clean energy subsidies stalls major solar, wind projects and manufacturing plans
Singapore-based solar panel manufacturer Bila Solar is suspending plans to double capacity at its new factory in Indianapolis. Canadian rival Heliene's plans for a solar cell facility in Minnesota are under review. Norwegian solar wafer maker NorSun is evaluating whether to move forward with a planned factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And two fully permitted offshore wind farms in the U.S. Northeast may never get built. These are among the major clean energy investments now in question after Republicans agreed earlier this month to quickly end U.S. subsidies for solar and wind power as part of their budget megabill, and as the White House directed agencies to tighten the rules on who can claim the incentives that remain. This marks a policy U-turn since President Donald Trump's return to office that project developers, manufacturers and analysts say will slash installations of renewable energy over the coming decade, kill investment and jobs in the clean energy manufacturing sector supporting them, and worsen a looming U.S. power supply crunch as energy-hungry AI infrastructure expands. Solar and wind installations could be 17% and 20% lower than previously forecast over the next decade because of the moves, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie, which warned that a dearth of new supplies could slow the expansion of data centers needed to support AI technology. Energy researcher Rhodium, meanwhile, said the law puts at risk $263 billion of wind, solar, and storage facilities and $110 billion of announced manufacturing investment supporting them. It will also increase industrial energy costs by up to $11 billion in 2035, it said. 'One of the administration's stated goals was to bring costs down, and as we demonstrated, this bill doesn't do that,' said Ben King, a director in Rhodium's energy and climate practice. He added the policy 'is not a recipe for continued dominance of the U.S. AI industry.' The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration has defended its moves to end support for clean energy by arguing the rapid adoption of solar and wind power has created instability in the grid and raised consumer prices – assertions that are contested by the industry and which do not bear out in renewables-heavy power grids, like Texas' ERCOT. Power industry representatives, however, have said all new generation projects need to be encouraged to meet rising U.S. demand, including both those driven by renewables and fossil fuels. Consulting firm ICF projects that U.S. electricity demand will grow by 25% by 2030, driven by increased AI and cloud computing – a major challenge for the power industry after decades of stagnation. The REPEAT Project, a collaboration between Princeton University and Evolved Energy Research, projects a 2% annual increase in electricity demand. With a restricted pipeline of renewables, tighter electricity supplies stemming from the policy shift could increase household electricity costs by $280 a year in 2035, according to the REPEAT Project. The key provision in the new law is the accelerated phase-out of 30% tax credits for wind and solar projects: it requires projects to begin construction within a year or enter service by the end of 2027 to qualify for the credits. Previously the credits were available through 2032. Now some project developers are scrambling to get projects done while the U.S. incentives are still accessible. But even that strategy has become risky, developers said. Days after signing the law, Trump directed the Treasury Department to review the definition of 'beginning of construction.' A revision to those rules could overturn a long-standing practice giving developers four years to claim tax credits after spending just 5% of project costs. Treasury was given 45 days to draft new rules. 'With so many moving parts, financing of projects, financing of manufacturing is difficult, if not impossible,' said Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene. 'You are looking to see what is the next baseball bat that's going to hit you on the head.' About face Heliene's planned cell factory, which could cost as much as $350 million, depending on the capacity, and employ more than 600 workers, is also in limbo, Pochtaruk said in an interview earlier this month. The company needs more clarity on both what the new law will mean for U.S. demand, and how Trump's trade policy will impact the solar industry. 'We have a building that is anxiously waiting for us to make a decision,' Pochtaruk said. Similarly, Mick McDaniel, general manager of Bila Solar, said 'a troubling level of uncertainty' has put on hold its $20 million expansion at an Indianapolis factory it opened this year that would create an additional 75 jobs. 'NorSun is still digesting the new legislation and recent executive order to determine the impact to the overall domestic solar manufacturing landscape,' said Todd Templeton, director of the company's U.S. division that is reviewing plans for its $620 million solar wafer facility in Tulsa. Five solar manufacturing companies – T1 Energy, Imperial Star Solar, SEG Solar, Solx and ES Foundry – said they are also concerned about the new law's impact on future demand, but that they have not changed their investment plans. The policy changes have also injected fresh doubt about the fate of the nation's pipeline of offshore wind projects, which depend heavily on tax credits to bring down costs. According to Wood Mackenzie, projects that have yet to start construction or make final investment decisions are unlikely to proceed. Two such projects, which are fully permitted, include a 300-megawatt project by developer US Wind off the coast of Maryland and Iberdrola's 791 MW New England Wind off the coast of Massachusetts. Neither company responded to requests for comment. 'They are effectively ready to begin construction and are now trapped in a timeline that will make it that much harder to be able to take advantage of the remaining days of the tax credits,' said Hillary Bright, executive director of offshore wind advocacy group Turn Forward.
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says he won't seek third term in battleground Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, announced Thursday that he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating the first open race for governor in the battleground state in 16 years. It will be Wisconsin's highest profile race next year, as Democrats also angle to take control of the Legislature thanks to redrawn election maps that are friendlier to the party. They are also targeting two congressional districts as Democrats nationwide try to retake the House.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
‘I Want to Clear My Name': Deported Migrant Takes First Step to Sue the U.S.
A Venezuelan migrant took the first step on Thursday toward suing the United States for what he says was his wrongful detention and removal to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, spent four months in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where he said he was beaten and abused. He filed an administrative claim on Thursday with the Homeland Security Department, accusing U.S. immigration agencies of removing him without due process. It is the first such claim to be filed by one of the 252 Venezuelan men who were expelled and sent to El Salvador in March, his lawyers said, and is a necessary step before taking legal action against the U.S. government in federal court. Mr. Rengel, who is seeking $1.3 million in damages, was released last week as part of a large-scale prisoner swap between Venezuela and the United States. He is now living in Venezuela. 'I want to clear my name,' he said in a phone interview late Wednesday from his home in the state of Miranda. 'I am not a bad person.' The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on Mr. Rengel's claim. The detention of Venezuelan men in El Salvador in March was one of the first high-profile efforts to fulfill President Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations. His administration has accused the migrants of belonging to a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, and his administration has used the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked wartime law, to justify capturing and removing many of the men to El Salvador. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
