Crime: suspicious after fatal shots on MPs

After the fatal shots on a politician and her husband in the US state of Minnesota, the police have gripped the alleged perpetrator. Governor Tim Walz confirmed this at a press conference late Sunday evening (local time). The suspect had been on the run since Saturday. He was arrested without the use of violence, said a police spokesman. The search for the fleeting was the “greatest search in the history of the state”.

The suspect was taken into custody on Sunday evening (local time) in Sibley County in the south of Minnesota near his place of residence, reported several US media, citing police officers. Accordingly, emergency services had followed the suspect in a forest. Shortly afterwards he surrendered. A photo is circulating on social media to show the moment of arrest.

The alleged perpetrator is a 57-year-old man who, according to the research of US media, works in the security industry. Before the suspect was arrested, a car was found nearby, which should belong to him. The man had escaped after the crime on Saturday, whereupon a large -scale search was initiated.

On the early Saturday morning (local time), the democratic MP Melissa Hortman, who belonged to the Parliament of Minnesota, and her husband Mark were shot in the couple’s house in the city of Brooklyn Park. In another attack in the nearby Champlin, a democratic senator from the parliament of the state, John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette were shot down and seriously injured. The senator is now on the way to recovery, Walz continued.

The authorities assume a political motive behind the deeds.

Were other politicians at risk?

According to the “New York Times”, the killed politician played a central role in the adoption of laws that expanded the right to abortion, legalized marijuana for leisure use and obliged to offer paid health vacation.

In addition to a larger amount of ammunition, emergency services also found a list with names of several officials. According to the US broadcaster CNN, politicians from Minnesota and other states, as well as supporters of the right, were on abortion. The authorities had therefore feared that other people could be in danger.

Suspected perpetrator pretended to be a police officer

As a precaution, the police had checked the Hortmans’ house after the attack on the Hoffman couple. There the emergency services came across a man in a police uniform, who spoke out as a civil servant. In the entrance there was a vehicle with flashing lights. When the policemen confronted the man, he opened the fire – there was a change of shooting. According to the authorities, the suspect initially fled into the house and then from the crime scene. The officials found the aftermans in the house.

The suspect is said to have had political offices themselves

According to CNN, the suspect should be an evangelical Christian, reports CNN. In the past, he had done mission work abroad and also held local political offices, wrote US media after evaluating his online profiles and various documents. Accordingly, he is said to have sat in a committee with the shot Senator Hoffman. It was initially unclear whether the two knew each other.

In Africa, the suspect tried to convert Islamists for Christianity, wrote the “Washington Post”. According to CNN, he also commented on the rights of sexual minorities.