Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter: Lifelong friend recounts shock and disbelief after recognizing him in a surveillance photo. The harrowing image depicts Boelter masked, accused of fatally shooting former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding Senator John Hoffman and his wife. A decades-long friendship shattered by a political rampage
Childhood friends shocked as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, masked in surveillance footage, is charged with the murder of two Minnesota lawmakers and the wounding of two others. David Carlson, a lifelong friend, barely recognized Boelter in the images depicting the political attack, describing the event as "like getting struck by lightning." The suspect, a married father of five, had reportedly been struggling with unemployment and hidden mental health issues
Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter's longtime friend, David Carlson, expressed shock and disbelief at his involvement. In an Associated Press interview, Carlson, describing a decades-long friendship, stated he barely recognized Boelter in surveillance footage showing the masked gunman. The revelation was as unexpected as "getting struck by lightning," leaving Carlson questioning whether he missed warning signs from his friend, who he now describes as "a sick man" in need of help
Childhood friend David Carlson reveals a hidden darkness in Vance Boelter, the Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect. Carlson, shocked by Boelter's actions, describes a man he barely recognized in surveillance footage, stating, "There was a darkness that was inside of him…He must have kept it hidden." This revelation underscores the mystery surrounding Boelter's motives and raises questions about missed warning signs
Friends and associates of Vance Boelter, the Minnesota man charged with shooting two lawmakers, are grappling with the shocking revelation, re-examining their past interactions to determine if they missed warning signs. As investigators unravel Boelter's motives and actions, those who knew him—including lifelong friend David Carlson—reflect on their relationships with the former pastor, questioning whether subtle indicators of his escalating darkness went unnoticed
Vance Boelter, a married father of five, frequently stayed at a friend's Minneapolis home to ease his commute. In retrospect, his friend David Carlson reveals Boelter was deeply troubled and in need of help, a fact tragically overlooked until after the Minnesota lawmaker shootings
Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter's motives remain complex, defying simplistic explanations despite writings suggesting a targeted attack on Democrats. Law enforcement cautions against premature conclusions, even as the investigation unfolds, revealing a disturbing picture behind the attacks on former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and Senator John Hoffman and his wife
Vance Boelter faces federal murder and stalking charges, along with state counts, for the fatal shootings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. He is also charged with wounding Democratic Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in what authorities describe as a politically motivated attack
Before the Minnesota lawmaker shootings, Vance Boelter, a longtime friend, was struggling with unemployment and job search disappointment, according to David Carlson, a childhood friend
Before the shocking Minnesota shootings, Vance Boelter abruptly resigned from his job transporting bodies and returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he ran several agricultural and fishing businesses
Carlson questioned Boelter's job resignation, doubting his Congo venture's success, highlighting the unexpected nature of his friend's violent actions
But the life change was in keeping with Boelter’s impetuous “mentality to always go to the extreme,” Carlson said, recalling a time in the 1990s when Boelter was captured by security forces after sneaking into Gaza to preach Christianity on a trip to Israel. “That’s how crazy Vance is,” Carlson said. “He wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Years earlier, after embracing Christianity, Boelter dramatically renounced his past life, discarding possessions including martial arts weapons, to fully dedicate himself to his faith
Vance Boelter, the suspect in the Minnesota lawmakers' shooting, graduated from Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas in 1990 with a diploma in practical theology and leadership. The Institute expressed shock and horror at Boelter's actions, stating that his behavior is completely contrary to their values
Following the Minnesota lawmaker shootings, Boelter's church near Minneapolis, while not responding to press inquiries, released a statement condemning the violence as contrary to Jesus' teachings
Boelter, who worked as a security contractor, offered a glimpse of his opposition to abortion in a 2023 sermon he gave in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, saying “they don’t know abortion is wrong in many churches.”
“He wasn’t a radical cultist,” Carlson said. “He was just a regular Christian and kind of outspoken.”
Boelter was unrestrained when it came to his distaste for Democrats, Carlson said, but that rhetoric never seemed threatening. Carlson and another friend, Paul Schroeder, told AP they never heard Boelter talk about abortion or any of the officials who were targeted.
The FBI said Boelter “made lists containing the names and home addresses of many Minnesota public officials, mostly or all Democrats.”
“It wasn’t like, ‘We gotta stop them, man,’” Carlson said. “But it chills me to think he was in his room writing that stuff in my house.”
Boelter would go to a shooting range occasionally but was not fanatical about firearms, another friend, Paul Shroeder said.
“I thought he was just collecting them for self-defense,” Carlson said. “It was 1,000 miles away from stalking people and killing them.”
Carlson said he awoke Saturday to an alarming text message from Boelter, who warned he was “going to be gone for a while,” and “may be dead shortly.” Carlson initially thought his friend was suicidal and went to check his room.
He said he was so concerned he called police, who “at first didn’t seem too interested” before quickly connecting the messages to the shootings.
“Why throw your whole life away? God, he’s so stupid,” Carlson said. “He had everything.”
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Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.
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