Authorities in the United States confirmed that security forces in Minnesota apprehended the suspect accused of murdering a Democratic state legislator and her husband following nearly two days of pursuit.
Officer Jeremy Geiger from the Minnesota police stated, “The suspect was taken into custody without the use of force,” noting that the arrest occurred in the town of Green Isle, located west of Minneapolis.
Reports from sources including The New York Times and CBS News indicated that a significant number of local, state, and federal law enforcement officials were involved in locating and apprehending the 57-year-old suspect in a rural area.
The legislator, Melissa Hortman, and her husband were shot and killed, while local Democratic Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, sustained injuries in the incidents occurring at two separate locations on Saturday morning.
Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz characterized the shootings as an act of “political violence.”
The killing of Hortman unfolded against a backdrop of heightened tension across the United States, with the military deployed in Los Angeles to quell protests and a military display held in Washington D.C. attended by Donald Trump, which spurred demonstrations nationwide.
President Trump condemned the “horrific shooting” in a statement, indicating, “It appears to be a deliberate attack on state legislators… Such gruesome violence will not be tolerated in the United States.