Minnesota shootings: Manhunt for suspect under way

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also says in a statement on X that he is “beyond heartbroken” at Hortman’s deaths.

“Melissa and I were friends for over two decades. She was wise, she was caring, she was brilliant, and her smile lifted people up in good times and helped them through the bad,” Ellison says.

“Melissa was a force in Minnesota politics who understood what it meant to be a public servant,” he adds, saying his office will assist law enforcement in their investigation.

“I hope Minnesotans can offer grace, care, and kindness to each other in the days ahead,” he says.

Minnesota Secretary of State
Steve Simon describes it as the “darkest days for Minnesota, the Hortman and Hoffman families and for our democracy”.

In a statement he pays tribute to his “good friend” Hortman, who he says was the “best of us” and one of the “most extraordinary public servants I’ve ever known”.

“She and her husband Mark attended my wedding. I’m just numb about their deaths. I pray for their children, parents, and family. Their assassination is not just a personal loss, but a loss to Minnesota,” he adds.

Simon describes Ms Hortman as “smart, savvy, strategic, kind, funny, brave, and determined” and says he is praying for Senator Hoffman and his wife Yvette – who he describes as friends.

“There’s another victim of today’s senseless shootings: Democracy itself. Political violence is unacceptable. To perpetrate it, encourage it, or pretend to ignore it will only poison our democracy,” he adds.