A gloomy Governor Tim Walz talked about the work and legacy of state representative Melissa Hortman, who, according to the authorities, was killed at home on Saturday morning. Police said the suspect attacked her, another democratic state legislator and her spouses.
“Our state lost a beloved leader and lost the most beloved friends,” Walz told journalists at a press conference.
Hortman, the former speaker of the Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota, and her husband Mark were shot dead at his home in Brooklyn Park around 3:35 am by a suspect who passed through a police officer, the investigators said.
The representative of the State of Minnesota, Melissa Hortman and the senator of the state of Minnesota, John Hoffman, are shown in these photos of files without date.
Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota | Minnesota Senate
The shooting took place almost 90 minutes after the same suspect shot and wounded state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in his house in Champlin, according to the police. The unidentified suspect, who had a list of other objectives, fled on foot after participating in a shooting with officers outside Hortman’s house, police said.
Walz described Hortman as someone who served the State with “great compassion, grace, humor and a sense of service.”
“It was a formidable public servant. An accessory and giant in Minnesota. He woke up every day determined to make this state a better place,” he told reporters.
The governor further condemned the attack in a statement.
“We are not a country that resolves our differences to gunpoint. We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to disagree peacefully, that the State was strengthened by the civil public debate,” he wrote. “We must be united against all forms of violence, and ask everyone to join me in that commitment.”
The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, speaks at a press conference on the shooting of two state legislators, on June 14, 2025.
Minnesota Public Security Department
Other state leaders and beyond offered similar condolences throughout the morning.
President Donald Trump also issued a statement on Saturday morning condemning violence.
“Such horrible violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place,” he said.
The White House said in a statement that the FBI and the Office of the Attorney General will investigate and “process anyone involved to the largest extent of the law.”
Former President Joe Biden spoke against the attack in an X position.
“This atrocious policy attack should never happen in the United States,” he said. “We must give hate and extremism without a safe port and we must all unite against political violence as a nation.”
The National Democratic Committee Ken Martin, former president of the Minnesota Democratic Party and friend of both victims, said in a statement that “like so many minnesotanos, my heart is broken.”
“Melissa, Mark, John E Yvette: these are not just names, and this is not just politics. These are people. They are very time friends for me and Jenn and many others in Minnesota. They have children, loved ones, neighbors and friends,” Martin wrote.
The representative Nancy Pelosi speaks during a proposal of republicans of the House of Representatives that opposes the final vote of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC
JEMAL CONDESA/GETTY IMAGES FOR MAYOR FAMILIES OF BALLIMILLONARIES, ARCHIVE
The former president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, whose house in California was invaded by a man who assaulted her husband with a hammer in 2022, said she was “disconsolate” by the situation.
“Unfortunately, we know the tragedy of when political violence comes very well home. We must all remember that it is not only the act of violence, but also the reaction to it, which can normalize it. This climate of politically motivated violence must end,” he said in a statement.
The president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, issued a statement denouncing the attack.
“Such a horrible political violence does not take place in our society, and each leader must condemn it unequivocally,” he said.
Senator Amy Klobuchar talks to journalists after a weekly democratic policy lunch in the United States Capitol building, on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Minnesota’s senator Amy Klobuchar, said she is “devastated” by the shooting and noticed his friendship with Hortman in a statement.
“She was a true public servant, dedicating her life to serving minnesotanos with integrity and compassion,” Klobuchar wrote. “As a speaker of the Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota, he directed the efforts to protect women’s rights, invest in clean energy and ensure free school lunch for children. He was loved by his colleagues.”
The Senator of Minnesota, Tina Smith, also responded to the shooting in an X position, denouncing political violence and said Hortman was “intelligent and fun and very dedicated to making Minnesota work better for all of us.”
In an X publication, the representative of Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, remembered Hortman as “a dear friend who showed me how to lead with passion and integrity.”
“Whatever our differences, nobody deserves this,” he wrote. “Violence does not take place in our communities.”
Richard Carlbom, president of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, said in a statement that Hortman “represented the best of Minnesota.”
Brittany Shepherd of ABC News, Averi Harper, Lauren Peller, Isabella Murray, Emily Chang and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
