(HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn.) — The wife of accused Minnesota lawmaker gunman Vance Boelter said she’s “completely blindsided” by the shootings allegedly carried out by her husband.
“On behalf of my children and myself, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the Hortman and Hoffman families,” Jenny Boelter said in a statement released by her attorneys on Thursday. “We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided.”
“It is a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith,” she continued. “We are appalled and horrified by what occurred and our hearts are incredibly heavy for the victims of this unfathomable tragedy.”
Vance Boelter is accused of shooting and killing Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in Brooklyn Park and shooting and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their house in nearby Champlin on June 14, authorities said.
Vance Boelter, 57, allegedly showed up to their doors in the middle of the night impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
When Vance Boelter allegedly fled the Hortmans’ home, sparking a massive manhunt, investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors. Two other lawmakers were spared the night of the shootings, officials said.
Jenny Boelter stressed in her statement that her family has cooperated with law enforcement from the start. She said when the authorities called her on the morning of June 14, she immediately drove to meet them.
“We voluntarily agreed to meet with them, answer their questions, provide all items they requested, and cooperate with all searches,” she said.
Hours after the shootings, Vance Boelter allegedly texted his family, “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t want to implicate anybody,” according to an affidavit. He also allegedly texted his wife, “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around.”
In a search of Jenny Boelter’s car, law enforcement recovered at least one gun, about $10,000 in cash and family passports, the affidavit said.
After a nearly 48 hour manhunt, Vance Boelter was apprehended without incident.
“We thank law enforcement for apprehending Vance and protecting others from further harm,” Jenny Boelter said at the conclusion of her statement.
Vance Boelter faces federal charges including stalking and state charges including first-degree murder. He has not entered a plea and is due in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing.
ABC News’ Christiane Cordero contributed to this report.
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