The shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses by a gunman impersonating a police officer two months ago triggered the state's largest manhunt ever, raising concerns about the safety of public officials nationwide.
In the ensuing weeks, both federal and state authorities have brought charges and disclosed additional details surrounding the incident. On Thursday, it was announced that a Minnesota grand jury had formally indicted the suspect on state first-degree murder charges.
Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in the attack, while another Democratic legislator and his wife sustained injuries.
The accused, Vance Boelter, had initially faced second-degree murder charges in state court, a charge that does not require a grand jury indictment. The newly filed first-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence and was secured through a grand jury process.
It remains uncertain when Boelter will make a court appearance on these state charges. He is concurrently facing federal murder charges, which carry the possibility of the death penalty. He pled not guilty to the federal accusations last week. The charges stem from the early morning shooting on June 14, which also left State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, wounded.
Prior to the state indictment, the Hennepin County prosecutor’s office expressed a preference to proceed with state prosecution promptly, but acknowledged that the U.S. attorney’s office holds the authority to determine the sequence of prosecutions. Notably, Minnesota does not impose the death penalty for state-level crimes.
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