A week after the brutal attack by political assassin Vanthruther Bolter on Minnesota legislators, various online fundraising efforts have raised close to $400,000 for the victims and their families.
Two days post-incident, 57-year-old Bolter allegedly shot Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champurin. The “Hoffmans” GoFundMe page has already collected $184,974 towards its $210,000 target as of Friday.
The funds are intended to cover medical expenses, rehabilitation, lost income, and other necessary living costs.
Yvette Hoffman was discharged from the hospital on Thursday after being shot eight times; however, Senator Hoffman remains in critical but stable condition, according to a hospital spokesperson from Minnesota.
“We hope this campaign can ease the financial burden during such a challenging time,” the announcement stated.
In a heartfelt message on Thursday, Hoffman expressed gratitude to GoFundMe supporters, who he said helped them “pick up some broken parts of our lives.”
The attack also took the lives of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Notably, their daughter Hope attended school with Holtiman’s daughter, Sophie.
In a statement, siblings Sophie and Colin, devastated by their parents’ murder, described them as “the bright light at the heart of our lives” and shared how deeply they miss them.
A separate GoFundMe campaign created for Sophie and Colin, initiated by Melissa’s brother Patrick Halpuzok, raised $195,137 of its $200,000 goal by Friday.
Boerter, facing federal charges for stalking and murder, allegedly targeted Northstar lawmakers and their spouses. He has yet to enter a plea in his case, and authorities reported finding a cache of automatic weapons and a list of 45 elected officials alongside abortion providers in his vehicle.
