Full transcripts of the 911 call made from the home of Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman after a gunman disguised as a cop shot him and his wife shed new light on the role their daughter played in saving lives.
Hennepin County officials released unredacted versions of the 911 call late Monday night after Minnesota media outlets waged a months-long legal fight to get more information than the heavily redacted versions made available in July.
The call came in about five minutes after Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, answered an unremittingly rung doorbell at around 2 a.m. on June 14 to find a man dressed in what first looked like police garb. He then opened fire, shooting John Hoffman nine times and Yvette eight.
In the dark, they realized “too late” that he was wearing a mask and wasn’t a cop, their daughter Hope told the dispatcher, according to the transcript obtained by KARE-TV.
“SHOT, SHOT, MY PARENTS HAVE BEEN SHOT,” Hope frantically said. “Somebody came to our door dressed as fake police and shot my parents. They’re alive but we need help quick.”
The dispatcher asked if she knew who the gunman was, and Hope repeated that they’d been shot and replied, “NO, THEY WERE MASKED!”
“Both your parents?” the dispatcher asked.
“YES, BOTH OF THEM,” Hope replied. “PLEASE HURRY, PLEASE!”
Then she spelled out her surname, telling them, “My dad is Senator John Hoffman. Mom, are you alive? Did they shoot your heart? Or hit the organs?” and another voice replied, “Yes.”
Hope Hoffman relayed all that while tending to her parents, who both survived the shooting. She also told authorities she suspected her father had been targeted because of his political position and that the family’s security cameras might provide valuable footage of the gunman’s vehicle — information that officials said saved other lives.
However, the transcript has raised questions about how police relayed the information to other elected officials and to each other. About 90 minutes later, alleged gunman John Boelter fatally shot former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, just as cops arrived.
Local police are facing scrutiny about why the Hortmans weren’t warned during those 90 minutes that a would-be killer was on the loose and allegedly hunting prominent politicians. State agencies told KSTP that they’ll investigate law enforcement’s response.
