The suspected assassin who killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman also injured her beloved golden retriever so badly that he had to be euthanized.
Gilbert, who was adopted by the Hortmans in 2021, was tragically shot by a gunman known as Vance Boelter. Boelter was identified by the police as the perpetrator of the crime, in which he targeted the Democrat and her husband Mark.
He was put down by the couple’s children after they learned ‘Gilbert wasn’t going to survive’, state Rep. Erin Koegel revealed.
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, also confirmed Gilbert’s death and said Boelter’s ‘cruelty knows no bounds’.
The accused, Boelter, aged 57, is facing charges for pretending to be a police officer before fatally shooting Hortman and her husband Mark. Hortman held a prominent position as the top Democrat in the Minnesota House. The incident took place at their residence on a Saturday night.
He is also suspected of shooting and wounding state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away.
It appears that the alleged assailant had intentions to harm other liberal lawmakers and individuals providing abortion services. This assumption is based on a list containing approximately 45 names that was discovered at the crime scene.
He is now facing two state murder charges as well as two attempted murder charges, and a federal warrant for ‘unlawful flight to avoid prosecution’. Those charges will soon be upgraded as the state ‘intends to pursue first-degree murder charges’.
Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman’s beloved golden retriever Gilbert (pictured with Hortman in 2022) had to be euthanized after being shot by suspected assassin Vance Boelter
Hortman and her husband Mark fostered Gilbert in January 2021 and trained him to become a service dog, but ‘flunked out of school’ and instead became a member of the Hortman family (pictured with Gilbert around Christmas 2022)
Gilbert was shot when Vance Boelter, pictured donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head during the shootings, impersonated a police officer and assassinated the lawmaker and her husband on Saturday night
Hortman, 55, adopted Gilbert in January 2021, according to a series of post she shared on social media. The lawmaker was a foster home trainer for local shelter Helping Paws, which is where she met Gilbert.
She and Mark, 58, started training Gilbert after the successfully raised another dog Minnie to become a service animal. Minnie is currently partnered with a veteran.
But Gilbert ‘flunked out of school’ and instead became a member of the Hortman family, Koegel said.
It is unclear why Boelter shot Gilbert, but the dog suffered fatal injuries during his owner’s assassination.
‘Her children had to put down him after learning their parents had been murdered. Gilbert wasn’t going to survive,’ Koegel revealed.
‘Melissa loved that dog. She trained him as a service dog. He flunked out of school and she was so happy he failed so he could stay! She needed him in heaven with her.’
Martin, who learned of Gilbert’s demise from Koegel, blasted Boelter over the ‘unspeakable’ act of violence.
‘Vance Boelter shot the dog while assassinating Melissa and Mark. The cruelty knows no bounds. My heart aches,’ he wrote on social media.
Hortman ‘loved’ Gilbert (pictured with Hortman at the time of his January 2021 adoption) and was ‘so happy he failed’ service dog training so ‘he could stay’ with their family
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, also confirmed Gilbert’s death and said Boelter’s ‘cruelty knows no bounds’. Pictured: Gilbert in January 2021
Koegel, a member of the Minnesota House since 2017, was notified of Gilbert’s condition by the Minnesota House Sergeant-at-Arms, The Daily Beast reports.
Helping Paws also paid tribute to Hortman, saying in a Facebook post: ‘We remember Melissa for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering commitment to making the world better – both in public office and through her work with Helping Paws.’
Boelter was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint unsealed on Sunday.
Three of those charges are punishable with jail terms of up to 40 years. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday at 1:30 p.m. local time, jail records show.
Acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson on Monday announced six new federal charges against Boelter for murder, stalking, and shooting offenses – while revealing that he went to two other lawmakers’ homes with the intent to kill them in the early hours of June 14.
If convicted on a federal murder or terrorism charge, Boelter could end up being executed. Minnesota abolished the death penalty for state charges in 1911.
Boelter had been impersonating a police officer while carrying out the shootings, wearing an officer’s uniform and driving a Ford SUV with police-style lights, the complaint said.
He fled on foot early on Saturday when officers confronted him at Hortman’s Brooklyn Park home, said authorities who had warned residents to stay indoors for their own safety and unleashed the state’s biggest manhunt.
When police searched Boelter’s SUV after the shootings, they discovered three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9-mm handgun, and a list of other public officials including their addresses, the criminal complaint showed.
Vance Luther Boelter, the man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, as he was arrested late Sunday, June 15, 2025
Boelter was seen in CCTV footage wearing a cowboy hat identical to one found on Sunday
Working on a tip that Boelter was near his home in the city of Green Isle, more than 20 SWAT teams combed the area, aided by surveillance aircraft, officials said.
Boelter was armed but surrendered with no shots fired.
The operation to capture Boelter, drawing on the work of hundreds of detectives and a wide range of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, was the largest manhunt in state history.
But Boelter seemingly wanted to take out several A-list Democrats, a chilling hit list seized by police has suggested.
US Senator Amy Klobuchar and ‘squad member’ Rep. Ilhan Omar were among the most prominent lawmakers featured on the list, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune and Alpha News reporter Liz Collins. Both women are Democrat members of Congress and are among the most famous females in their party.
Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and even Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott – whom Boelter listed as an ‘author and philanthropist, were also on the list.
All four are well known liberal figures.
The suspect included doctors that work for Planned Parenthood, as well as several abortion clinics on his list, even noting one that is due to open in Omaha, Nebraska.
Boelter, now a Donald Trump supporter, is believed to have targeted Hortman and Hoffman due to their support for abortion rights.
Vance Boelter has been charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder
Vance Boelter is accused of posing as a police officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark (pictured together) in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs
Boelter also allegedly wounded his Democratic State Senator John Hoffman
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans, who confirmed investigators found his manifesto, said the document ‘gives some indications’ about Boelter’s motives.
‘This is not a document that would be like a traditional manifesto that’s a treatise on all kinds of ideology and writings,’ Evans explained, according to the Star Tribune.
He said it was instead a notebook ‘with a lot of lawmakers and others… as opposed to a succinct document’.
‘I don’t want the public to have the impression that there’s this long manifesto that’s providing all of this information and details and then associated with names. It’s much more about names,’ Evans added.
