Suspect in Minnesota Shooting Linked to Security Company, Evangelical Ministry

A man named Vance Boelter allegedly shot and killed Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state representative, and her husband Mark Hortman at their home at some point early Saturday morning while, according to law enforcement, impersonating a police officer. He also allegedly shot state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman at their home. They are alive, but remain in critical condition.

The 57-year-old, who has been identified as the suspected shooter by law enforcement, runs an armed security service with his wife, and has been affiliated with at least one evangelical organization, a ministry he has also run with his wife, according to a tax filing reviewed by WIRED. (His wife could not be immediately reached for comment.) According to public records and archived websites reviewed by WIRED, the suspect served for a time as the president of Revoformation Ministries. A version of the ministry’s website captured in 2011 carries a biography in which he is said to have been ordained in 1993.

According to an archived website for the ministry reviewed by WIRED, the suspected shooter’s missionary work took him to Gaza and the West Bank during the Second Intifada, where, the website states, he “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.”

A later version of the site was designed, according to an archived copy, by Israeli web design firm J-Town. Charlie Kalech, CEO of J-Town, tells WIRED that the alleged suspect was, in his recollection, “clearly religious and evangelistic. He had lots of ideas to make the world a better place.” The suspect, whom Kalech said was “nothing but nice to me,” commissioned J-Town, Kalech recalled, because they’re Jerusalem-based, and he said he wanted to support Israel.

The suspected shooter also appears to be the director of security patrols at Praetorian Guard Security Services, a security company run servicing the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro areas that he founded with his wife Jenny. The company, which also lists Todd Boelter, a former police officer and the alleged shooter’s cousin, as a security training manager advertises residential security patrols and uniformed security patrols. “We only offer armed security. If you are looking for unarmed guards, please work with another service to meet your needs better,” states the “red lines” section of the company’s website. The website also states that their “guards” wear the “best personal protective equipment money can buy.”

Officials say that the suspect in the shootings had an SUV kitted out with emergency lights, a badge, and a taser. Though it is not yet clear where the suspect obtained materials to allegedly impersonate a police officer, the Praetorian Guard Security Services website states that their guards “drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the US. Currently we drive Ford Explorer Utility Vehicles.” According to photographs from the scene, the car towed away by law enforcement was a Ford.

His involvement in the food industry has also seemingly helped him build inroads to local government. In 2019, Minnesota governor Tim Walz appointed him to a Workforce Development Board in the capacity of a “business and industry representative.” He also served as chair on the Dakota-Scott Workforce Development Board for over a decade, but resigned last year, according to a post on LinkedIn.