And I see there’s a tornado watch on, northwest of us.
Something I learned from that KSTP article — the “Eagle’s Healing Nest” is a metaphoric name, it’s a facility for veterans, service members, and their families on the north side, no actual eagles involved — folks at that north side facility — nobody hurt, happily — asked neighbors for help, and volunteers showed up.
It sounds like a mess. A few broken windows, hail damage, and 25 trees down.
Here on the south side, where I live, no damage that we’ve noticed: and I’ve been sincerely glad the power came back on. Air conditioning is nice to have in weather like this.
Our number-two daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and number-one daughter live on a homestead up in the Red River Valley. They’re all okay. Son-in-law noticed weather happening and got everyone into the basement. Their house is okay, too. Some cottonwood trees and the old ash tree are down, along with assorted branches.
They operate a wood mill, west of the house. I gather that it’s mostly okay, but winds peeled off a substantial part of the roof. Still, it could have been worse. This could have happened as winter was setting in.
I really hope they don’t get more ‘interesting’ weather this evening.
I’m not sure how much I’ll get done this week. Effects from Friday night’s disrupted sleep — number-one daughter suggested that having an inactive CPAP might be a factor — are mostly gone, but there’s some medical stuff coming up.
‘Nothing serious’, I trust. But last Thursday I experienced my first biopsy. Fascinating process. Maybe I’ll talk about that. Then again, maybe not.
Meanwhile — I do pay attention to my news feed, and am aware of what’s been going on. That’s not something I plan on writing about right now. Partly because I talked about that sort of thing about a year ago.
Now, since I want to get this wrapped up and start relaxing, the usual links:
That said, attacks on politicians in Minnesota — bad as they were — could have ended with many more dead bodies and hurting families. Even so, there’s precious little to celebrate.
This week I’ll be looking at what happened, what’s being said about it, and both how I feel and what I think of the situation.
Shelter in place warning, downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 14, 2025) Elliot F’s photo via Wikipedia
The words “assassin” and “assassination” started popping up in headlines about the two killings and multiple attacks over the weekend, down in the Twin Cities. Given what we’re learning about the incidents, that makes sense.
So does the early focus on the person who apparently killed those folks:
“…In social media posts and websites, Boelter said he had extensive experience as a security professional with ‘training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military.’
“NPR found little evidence to support Boelter’s account. He appears to have worked most of his career in the food service industry and one long-time friend described parts of Boelter’s narrative about his life as ‘fantasy.’…” [details given later in article)
“…Evans said investigators aren’t yet certain Boelter acted alone. ‘We still don’t know if other people may be involved,’ Evans said. ‘This individual is the person of interest right now, but there may be other people with him.’…”
There’s still a great deal we don’t know about the killer: or that I haven’t seen in the news, at any rate. What is certain is that he was found, alive; was arrested; and is looking at serious legal trouble.
Local and regional news started focusing on the deceased’s children, and those of the couple who survived. I see this as a good thing, since it’s a reminder that politicos are people, too.
Bad as it was, what happened over the weekend could have been a lot worse if a police sergeant hadn’t thought a welfare check was a good idea:
“…Brooklyn Park Police officials confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that the sergeant’s name is Rielly Nordan….
“…Sgt. Nordan had just finished his shift and was walking out of the police station when he heard of the shooting at Hoffman’s house.
“‘Being alert, seeing two officers in the police department, he [Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Burley] said, “Hey, drive by Melissa Hortman’s house and just check on the house, would you?”’….” (“Catching Minnesota assassination suspect: How a hunch and a mistake led to his arrest” , Bill Hutchinson, ABC News (June 17, 2025)) [emphasis mine]
That decision almost certainly saved lives: which I see as very good news.
A “Deeply Religious” Assassin
National news, when it mentions the weekend killings, has been focusing more on the political and public safety angles.
That makes sense, but I’m not happy about what may be an emerging theme:
“The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a ‘bad place’ where most churches didn’t oppose abortion….”
“…The church Boelter attended outside Minneapolis issued a statement Sunday condemning the shootings as ‘the opposite of what Jesus taught his followers to do.’
“‘This incident has devastated our church family and does not reflect our values or beliefs,’ the Jordan Family Church said on its website, adding it was cooperating with law enforcement….” [emphasis mine]
Between frothing radio preachers of my youth denouncing ‘un-American’ ideas like peace, love, and brotherhood, and a lifetime spent in a culture recovering from that lunacy — I’m just glad that AP article quoted the killer’s church leaders, and that they seem to have read the Bible.
So far, I haven’t seen headlines suggesting that ‘beware the religious assassins’ is getting traction in op-eds.
That, for me, is also very good news.
What Two Bishops and an Executive Director Said
Billy Sunday, preaching up a storm, as shown in Metropolitan Magazine. (1915)
I had to dig a little to find a ‘Catholic’ response to the weekend’s killings. Possibly because priests and bishops aren’t, for the most part, nearly as colorful as some of my country’s old-school preachers.
“…Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said in a June 14 statement that he was ‘deeply saddened and angered by the cold-blooded assassination’ of Hortman and her husband and the attempted murder of Hoffman and his wife.
“‘Serving in a position of leadership requires making difficult choices and sticking to one’s word, while not abandoning one’s principles. I can personally attest from working with Representative Hortman that she was such a leader,’ he said. ‘We disagreed on key issues but still found opportunities to collaborate and solve difficult problems that mattered to Minnesotans generally and Catholics, specifically. We will be praying for the repose of her soul.’
“‘Senator Hoffman is a champion of vulnerable people in our communities and is a person of deep conviction. He is also a friend. Minnesota cannot afford to lose his presence in state government and our staff is praying fervently for him and for his family,’ Adkins continued….” [emphasis mine]
“It is with a heavy heart that I address you following the tragic shootings in our state. We mourn the loss of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and pray for the recovery of Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
“I had the opportunity to meet with Speaker Emerita Hortman in March during our annual advocacy day. I recall her dedication, compassion and goodwill for the people of Minnesota.
“In these difficult times, l ask everyone to join me in prayer for the victims and their families and for an end to violence in our society.
“May we all do our part to promote peace, understanding and respect for all life.” [emphasis mine]
“A terrible tragedy occurred in my home state of Minnesota early this morning. A gunman, disguised as a police officer, shot and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife and subsequently shot and killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband.
“A few months ago, the bishops of Minnesota visited the State Capitol in order to speak to some of the political leadership of our state. Both Sen. Hoffman and Rep. Hortman were among those we visited with. I was deeply impressed by both. Rep. Hortman listened to us with sharp intelligence and acute attention. And I had a wonderful conversation with Sen. Hoffman, who was a graduate of St. Mary’s University in my diocese. He shared his passion for Catholic Social Teaching.
“God knows we are divided society, but our political differences must never, ever give rise to violence. Please pray for the swift recovery of Sen. Hoffman and his wife and for the repose of the souls of Rep. Hortman and her husband.” [emphasis mine]
Saying something nice about recently-deceased public figures is quite conventional and, in my opinion, a good idea. Praying for the victims and their families is certainly a good idea.
I think looking at why these folks were targeted is also a good idea.
“…Sources said there was an extensive list of possible targets among writings found in the vehicle — more than 50 individuals, some of them officials beyond Minnesota, including abortion rights advocates and abortion facilities….”
Granted, it’s speculation: but the existence of that list, and its contents, very strongly suggests a particular sort of motive.
Gladness, Regret, Life, and Beliefs
Hortman home, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. (June 15, 2025)
How I feel about that nipped-in-the-bud killing spree is, so far, mostly ‘numb’. Anger and disgust is in the mix, too.
The Hortman family dog, Gilbert, was injured during the attack and is now dead. Then someone broke into the Hortman home. That family is not having a good time.
Injuries leading to the dog’s death are by far not the most serious charges that “deeply religious” Minnesotan will be facing.
As it is, I’m glad he was found, was arrested, and will very likely be tried on several very serious charges.
I’m also, oddly enough, glad that he’s alive. I’d better say why: and why I regret that Melissa and Mark Hortman are dead.
Taking My Faith Seriously
That’s me: Brian H. Gill. (2021)
Basically, it’s because I’m arguably a “deeply religious” person: but not in what I suspect is my culture’s conventional way.
I’ve followed Jesus ever since I can remember, and became a Catholic when I finally realized who currently holds the authority our Lord gave Peter. I take my faith very seriously. “Seriously but not grimly”, as this blog’s tagline says.
That’s why I get to Mass every Sunday, health permitting, have part of each day blocked out for prayer, and have other routines that aren’t typically “American”.
It’s also why I try to act as if what I believe matters.
Among other things, that means I can’t go off on a rant, expressing hopes that the murderer be tortured or at least killed. Praising him as a patriotic Christian American who waged righteous war on those who didn’t agree with him — that’s not an option, either.
Well, I could do either. I have free will. But I won’t.
Each Human Life Matters
Corey Comperatore, who was killed while protecting his family.
I’m glad that the person who apparently committed murders is still alive — and regret that his victims are dead — because I think they’re all human beings.
Since I’m a Catholic, I think that human life is sacred, a gift from God. I think every human life matters: each human life. It doesn’t matter who someone is. A corollary is that suicide is a really bad idea. (Catechism, 2258-2317)
That’s why I am sorry that the Hortmans are dead: and am glad the accused didn’t kill himself, or commit ‘suicide by cop’.
Although I think attacking those folks was wrong, I don’t I think every policy pushed by the victims’ political party is right. Again, it involves how I see human life.
I think human beings are people. ALL human beings. Who we are, what we’ve done, or who our ancestors are, doesn’t matter. Every human being is a person, made “in the image of God”: no matter how young or old, health or sick, that person is. Again, since human life is a gift from God, it’s precious, sacred. (Genesis 1:26–27, 2:7; Catechism, 355-357, 361, 369-370, 1700, 1730, 1929, 2258-2317)
Taking what the Church says seriously means I can’t support capital punishment: because a person who commits what a law code says is a capital crime is still a person. And I can’t support abortion rights because human beings are people, even if we haven’t learn to walk and talk yet.
Euthanasia is another non-starter. I’ve talked about this sort of thing before, and will close with the usual links:
Well, that was interesting. I woke up this morning, either because my CPAP stopped working or because I heard stuff hitting the side of the house. Didn’t know what time that was, since the clock I could see is electric.
My son came in a few minutes later to look out the window. We passed a few words, and I went back to sleep. In situations like that, there’s not much I can do: and my body insisted that sleep was important.
When I woke up again — always a good thing — the sun was coming up and the power was still down. I noticed that there were pieces of leaves plastered on the still-wet window. That confirmed what I’d assumed from the sound of stuff hitting the sides of the house. We’d been experiencing above-average wind.
The house, and that part of Sauk Centre I can see out the window — which reminds me, I need to reboot the webcam. I’ll do that before posting this — was very, very quiet. Earlier, when my son had looked out into a dark town, he’d mentioned that power was out. Don’t recall his exact words.
Anyway, there was almost no traffic on the street, the road work in the next block hadn’t started, and the house was very, very quiet. That reminded me of how much electrical equipment we use.
Time passed. I did my morning routines that didn’t need power, remembered that there’s an extreme heat warning on for this area over the weekend, and hoped that we’d get power back in time for the air conditioning to help.
Then, about 10:20 a.m., the power came back on. Number-three daughter came in to adjust the air conditioning controls to over-correct for the morning’s outage, let me know what was happening, and I started catching up on the ‘needs power’ parts of my routines.
Good news: seems that nobody in town got hurt last night. Trees down, blocking streets, on the north side, and some houses got damaged. Still, this could have been a lot worse.
“Central Minnesota had another bout of severe weather early Friday morning. At about 2:30 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for northeastern Stearns County and southwestern Todd County that was in effect until 3:15 a.m.
“The system was moving southeast through Sauk Centre and the Melrose area with strong straight-line winds and quarter-inch-sized hail. At just after 3:00 a.m., a second warning was issued for eastern Stearns County until 4:00 a.m. when weather spotters reported winds of 66 mph at the Sauk Centre Airport. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says the northern part of Sauk Centre saw significant damage, including about a dozen streets closed due to downed trees, downed power lines, and flooding….”
That’s it for me now. Next comes rebooting the webcam, finding out why the household’s Internet connection’s been intermittent — aside from the obvious, what I mean is I’ll ask my son if he’s doing some maintenance — and then I’ll see what happens next.
NAH! The connection’s been stable for a few minutes. I’ll just do that reboot, and ask questions later.
Now and then there’s something nice in my news feed. Like this:
“Exploring the cosmos fills us with wonder, Pope tells scientists” “Pope Leo XIV receives participants in the Vatican Observatory’s Summer School program, inviting them to share the joy they experience in exploring the cosmos and to contribute to a more peaceful and just world through the pursuit of knowledge.” Christopher Wells, Vatican News (June 16, 2025)
“Long after the human authors of Sacred Scripture pondered the moment of creation with ‘their poetic and religious imagination,’ Pope Leo XIV said on Monday, modern scientists continue to explore the universe with new tools, including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), whose images ‘fill us with wonder, and indeed a mysterious joy,’ as we contemplate the ‘sublime beauty’ of the stars.
“The Holy Father addressed his remarks to participants in the Vatican Observatory’s Summer School, which this year is dedicated to the theme ‘Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope.’…”
Being Catholic and having a lively interest in this universe works out pretty well. I’ve talked about that, sort of, in Science AND Religion — that and a drop-down menu of links is in the Navigation Bar.
Now I’m getting a cup of coffee, putting my feet up: and later on finishing this week’s post.
The person who has been suspected and accused of attacking these people was found and arrested yesterday. I see that as very good news.
Investigation into what happened, how it happened, and who all (if any, besides the accused) was involved is, I gather, still happening. I see that as good news, too.
I also see that I made at least one mistake while writing this post, mixing up the Hortman and Hoffman names. Small wonder, that: I write it in a hurry Saturday morning. I’ve marked the errors with strikethrough, and added a corrected name in bold in one place.
Meanwhile, at least one politico has said something daft, unnecessary, and — well, that’s par for the course.
Finally, I am emphatically not happy about what happened, I’m glad that the suspect has been arrested and is still alive, and haven’t decided whether or not I should spend more time, writing about these killings and the issues involved. Brian H. Gill
I’ve lived in Minnesota for most of my life. My home state doesn’t often make international news, and I’m not happy about why it’s making headlines today:
It’s not all bad news. One couple is dead, but another may survive.
“On June 14, 2025, Melissa Hortman, a representative in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband were shot and killed in their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. John Hoffman, a senator in the Minnesota Senate, and his wife were also in their home in nearby Champlin. Hoffman and his wife were injured, but officials were ‘cautiously optimistic’ they would survive….” (2025 Minnesota lawmaker shootings, Wikipedia (ca. 11:00 a.m. June 14, 2025))
Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, are on the north side of Minnesota’s Twin Cities: Minneapolis and Saint Paul.1
I’m guessing that the survivors are still alive because police showed up, checking on their welfare, after the first killings.
“…According to Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans, the Hoffmans were shot around 2 a.m. when a man impersonating a police officer showed up to their house in Champlin Park and shot them both multiple times.
“Then, around 3:35 a.m., the suspect went to the Hortman home in Brooklyn Park and fatally shot Speaker Hortman and her husband before exchanging gunfire with police….”
Seems that when police learned that the Hoffmans had been killed, they sent officers to check on the Hortmans: and met the alleged suspect coming out.
Good News, Bad News
That’s arguably a mix of good news and bad news.
Good news, the HortmansHoffmans were still alive and started getting medical treatment.
Bad news: by then, two people were dead and another two seriously injured; and whoever’s responsible was impersonating a police officer.
“…What we know about the suspect
“The suspect is a white male with brown hair. He was wearing black body armor and dressed as a police officer.
“The suspect was driving a vehicle that looked ‘exactly like a police vehicle’ and he was wearing a vest that mimicked a police uniform, as well as displaying a Taser and police badge.
“‘No question that if they were in this room you would assume that they were a police officer,’ [Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark] Bruley said, acknowledging that investigators have ‘people of interest that they are looking for.’
What’s going on in Minnesota’s Metro isn’t going to quiet down any time soon.
I’m glad I live more than two hours down the road from that area. Even so, it’s uncomfortably close to home.
Bad as the situation is, it could be worse. So far, no politico has said anything outrageously crazy about what’s happened.
I see that last item as good — and refreshing — news.
Bad Ideas and a Good Idea
I’m not, putting it mildly, happy about what happened.
Killing those people was quite simply wrong. Murder, taking an innocent human life, is a bad idea and we shouldn’t do it. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2268-2269)
There’s also the matter of impersonating a police officer. I see that as a preying on the trust we should have for those in authority. Again, a bad idea.
My wife mentioned what had happened before lunch, and said it’d be a good idea to pray for the folks involved. I think she’s right, so I’ll be doing that.
I’ve talked about life, death, politics, and making sense, before:
Something new each Saturday.
Life, the universe and my circumstances permitting. I'm focusing on 'family stories' at the moment. ("A Change of Pace: Family Stories" (11/23/2024))
I was born in 1951. I'm a husband, father and grandfather. One of the kids graduated from college in December, 2008, and is helping her husband run businesses and raise my granddaughter; another is a cartoonist and artist; #3 daughter is a writer; my son is developing a digital game with #3 and #1 daughters. I'm also a writer and artist.
I live in Minnesota, in America's Central Time Zone. This blog is on UTC/Greenwich time.
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Spiritual theologian, author and speaker, specializing in prayer, Christian spirituality and mystical theology [the kind that makes sense-BHG]
National news, when it mentions the weekend killings, has been focusing more on the political and public safety angles.
