Sen. John Hoffman says daughter saved him after he was shot 9 times

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife credited their daughter, Hope, with saving their lives the night they were both shot and wounded by a gunman carrying out an assassination attempt.

“Her brave actions and quick thinking triggered the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway,” the couple said in a statement, in which they also recalled the harrowing attack that nearly cost them their lives. They said they’d both already turned in for the night when they were startled awake by an urgent pounding on the door of their home in Champlin overnight Saturday.

A man outside was “seeking entry,” and “identifying himself as a police officer,” the couple said. The fracas outside was enough to draw Hoffman, his wife, Yvette, and Hope from their beds around 2 a.m.

“When the door was opened, all three of us were in the entryway,” the statement said. “John initially lunged at the gunman as the weapon was pointed directly at him.”

The senator was struck nine times before finally falling to the ground. Yvette also “reached out to push the man and shut the door, succeeding before she was also hit eight times by gunfire,” they recalled.

“Hope then rushed to shut the door and secured the lock; she got to the phone and shared with the 911 operator that Senator John Hoffman had been shot in his home.”

Some 90 minutes later, the same gunman, once again posing as a police officer, opened fired on state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home in Brooklyn Park, some eight miles away. They were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The Hoffmans, meanwhile, were rushed to an area hospital, where they both have since undergone surgery. Rep. Hoffman remains hospitalized in critical condition while his wife was released to recover at home on Thursday.

“We are heartbroken to know that our friends Melissa and Mark Hortman were assassinated,” their statement said. “Our daughter Hope and Sophie Hortman went to school together, and we know that they — along with Colin Hortman — will have each other’s support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night.”

The gunman, identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, was arrested on Sunday following what Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley called “the largest manhunt in state history.”

He said Boelter drove a black SUV with emergency lights turned on and that he wore a tactical vest in an effort to dupe the victims into thinking he was law enforcement. A search of his phony cruiser turned up a manifesto and a hit list some 45 names long. He’s facing both state and federal charges in connection with the pair shootings, including murder and attempted murder.