Police shot at suspect outside Hortman home, says new account from investigators

Police officers who caught up with alleged assassin Vance Boelter at the home of state Rep. Melissa Hortman fired at him after hearing gunfire inside, according to a new account released Thursday about the chaotic scene at the Brooklyn Park home.

The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCA) is leading the investigation into the June 14 deaths of Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and the wounding of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, a few hours earlier at their Champlin home.

The new statement from the agency described what happened when two officers “proactively responded” to the Hortman residence just after 3:30 a.m., intending to check on their welfare after their sergeant heard about the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home.

Officer Zachary Baumtrog and another officer, who was not identified, pulled up to find a vehicle resembling a police squad car parked in the Hortmans’ driveway, with emergency lights flashing. A man later identified as Boelter was out front, dressed as a police officer.

“Shots were fired, and Officer Baumtrog discharged his firearm in response,” the statement read. It did not say whether Boelter fired at officers. However, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said in an interview last week that there was an intense amount of gunfire.

“You had the officers shooting at the suspect, the suspect shoots Mark right in the entryway, he goes in the house and he starts shooting in the house,“ Bruley said. ”It’s really, really chaotic. As they called ‘shots fired,’ lots and lots of resources came. They converged on the house."

Boelter, who is scheduled to appear in federal court on Friday, was arrested 43 hours after the shootings in a field not far from his home just outside Green Isle, southwest of the Twin Cities.

The BCA said its personnel recovered spent casings from the scene. Also, a search warrant affidavit filed in Hennepin County District Court says 11 shell casings from a 9-millimeter Luger appeared to have been fired by Baumtrog. Six were recovered from the top of a Brooklyn Park police squad car, and five were fired from behind Boelter’s vehicle.

The bullets used to kill the Hortmans were also 9 mm Luger, but a different brand than the casings found in the driveway.

Six bullet casings were found in the front yard and doorway of the Hortmans’ house, and seven were found inside the house: two in the family office and five near the stairs leading from the main floor to the second floor.

There were 19 additional “projectiles” found in and around the house, though the search warrant does not clarify what weapon they were fired from. Casings from two 40-millimeter “less than lethal” rounds were also recovered outside the home.

Blood was found on a robe, an iPhone, in the driveway, on the stairs and on the walls of the staircase. Behind the house, investigators found a Beretta handgun, a replica Beretta handgun, a permit to carry badge, a holster, a facemask and a wig.

The Brooklyn Park Police Department has placed Baumtrog, who has nine years of law enforcement experience, on standard critical incident leave.

Once the BCA investigation into Baumtrog’s use of force is complete, the agency will send its findings to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review to determine whether the officer’s actions were legally justified.

Search warrants for Boelter’s bank records were unsealed this week in Hennepin County District Court, showing BCA investigators learned Boelter was employed at the University of Minnesota eye bank.

The BCA contacted university police, who shared Boelter’s personnel file, including that his paychecks were being deposited into an account with New Market Bank. Boelter’s bank accounts with U.S. Bank and a Mastercard through Sam’s Club were also investigated.

In a statement, the university said that Boelter was employed as a ”temporary technician” at their eye bank from December until June 13, one day before the shootings.

It is unclear whether the end of his employment resulted from his arrest or was decided beforehand.

The statement continued: “The University is fully cooperating with federal and state authorities as they continue the investigation into the events surrounding the tragic shootings.”

This was among several jobs Boelter appears to have worked at over the past few years. In a self-made résumé-style video posted to social media, Boelter spelled out his work in the funeral home industry and a food supply business project in Africa. He said he worked six days a week, splitting his time between Wulff Funeral Home and Metro First Call.