Brooklyn Park Police have confirmed to WCCO Radio that someone broke into the home of Melissa Hortman Wednesday morning, just days after she and her husband Mark were gunned down there in a politically motivated shooting.
Brooklyn Park Inspector Matt Rabe says they had already processed the crime scene and all evidence related to the case had been collected.
The home was boarded up early Sunday morning. A police trailer camera was placed at the front of the home and the house was released to the family. Family removed items of value from the home on Tuesday.
"We had the home boarded up and then we released the home to the family after placing a camera in the front of the home," Rabe explained. "And unfortunately, there were no cameras on the backside of the home."
Rabe says the person pulled off a board on a window to get inside.
"We need to give the Hortman family space and time to grieve, and I would ask everyone to do that," Rabe added. "And I would also ask residents in the area, in that neighborhood, that if they have anything they saw, anything suspicious within the last day, or they have anything on their ring doorbell cameras or their house cameras to please contact the Brooklyn Park Police."
Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed early Saturday morning during a targeted attack on Minnesota Democrats. State Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin and his wife Yvette were also shot. They're in a hospital recovering from serious injuries. Two other lawmakers were targeted in between those shootings by the suspect, Vance Boelter, who remains in federal custody and faces a number of serious charges. There were dozens of names on a list that were potential targets according to federal prosecutors in the case.
"It would be hard to believe that it's not someone who has at least seen the news of this and maybe took advantage of the situation," Rabe adds. "Yeah, it's a really unfortunate circumstance, and I think we all grieve for the Hortman family."
There is a vigil Wednesday night for the Hortmans at the Minnesota State Capitol.