Minnesota lawmaker who survived shooting shares harrowing account of how the attack unfolded
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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.'
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