Hundreds gather to remember slain Minnesota lawmaker and husband

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Hundreds of people, immoderate clutching candles oregon carrying flowers to laic successful beforehand of a memorial, gathered extracurricular Minnesota’s Capitol connected Wednesday evening for a vigil to retrieve a salient authorities lawmaker and her hubby who were gunned down astatine their home.

As a brass quintet from the Minnesota Orchestra played, Gov. Tim Walz wiped distant tears and comforted attendees astatine the gathering for erstwhile House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed aboriginal Saturday successful the bluish Minneapolis suburbs.

Colin Hortman, the Hortmans’ son, embraced Walz and laic a photograph of his parents connected the memorial.

The memorial, which sprang up extracurricular the Capitol aft the killings, features flowers, American flags, photos and sticky notes with specified messages as, “Thank you for ever believing successful maine and successful Minnesota” and “We got this from here. Thank you for everything.”

Wednesday's vigil besides included a Native American drum circle, a drawstring quartet and the assemblage singing “Amazing Grace.”

Around the gathering, determination was a dense constabulary presence, with instrumentality enforcement blocking disconnected streets starring up to the Capitol and authorities troopers lasting guard.

The lawsuit didn't see a speaking programme and attendees were instructed not to bring signs of immoderate kind.

The antheral charged successful national and authorities tribunal with sidesplitting the Hortmans, Vance Boelter, is besides accused of shooting different Democratic lawmaker, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, astatine their location a fewer miles distant successful Champlin. They survived and are recovering. Federal prosecutors person declined to speculate astir a motive.

Boelter’s attorneys person declined to remark connected the charges.

Hortman had served arsenic the apical House Democratic person since 2017, and six years arsenic speaker, starting successful 2019. Under a power-sharing woody aft the 2024 predetermination near the House tied, her rubric became talker emerita and Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth became speaker.

Walz has described Hortman arsenic his closest governmental state and “the astir consequential Speaker successful authorities history.”

The Hortmans were alumni of the University of Minnesota, which held a midday memorial gathering connected the Minneapolis campus.

Rebecca Cunningham, the university's president, spoke during the lawsuit astir the grief and outrage radical are grappling with on with questions astir however things got to this point.

“I don’t person the answers to these questions but I cognize that uncovering answers starts with the coming unneurotic successful assemblage arsenic we are today,” she said.

Funeral accusation for the Hortmans has not been announced.

___

Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski successful Minneapolis contributed to this report.