Minnesota Suspect Traveled to 4 Lawmakers’ Homes on Night of Attacks

The man accused of shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota drove to the homes of two additional politicians with the intent to kill them, the authorities said on Monday.

In both of those cases, they said, the man, Vance Boelter, was thwarted. One politician was not there. At the home of the other, he encountered a police officer who might have spooked him and caused him to flee.

The attacks began around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the authorities said, when Mr. Boelter, a 57-year-old funeral services employee, disguised himself as a police officer and drove to the home of State Senator John A. Hoffman in Champlin, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb.

Wearing a mask, he knocked on Mr. Hoffman’s door, shouting: “This is the police. Open the door.” When Mr. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, came to the door, Mr. Boelter told them a shooting had been reported in the house, according to a federal criminal complaint.

At some point, the couple realized that Mr. Boelter was wearing a mask and was not a real police officer, according to Joseph H. Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota. “You’re not a cop!” the couple shouted, to which Mr. Boelter responded, “This is a robbery,” and began forcing his way into the home, officials said.

When Senator Hoffman tried to push Mr. Boelter out of the home, officials said, Mr. Boelter shot the senator and his wife repeatedly, wounding them. They survived and remained hospitalized on Monday as they continued to recover.