MINNEAPOLIS >> The search for the man wanted in the shootings of two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers led to the discovery Sunday of a vehicle authorities believed he was using in a rural area outside Minneapolis as residents on edge struggled to make sense of the brazen political violence.

Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 9 miles away.

Authorities named 57-year-old Vance Boelter as a suspect, saying he wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car. The FBI issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings after he fled the area on foot.

Near where they located the vehicle, investigators found a cowboy hat and were working to definitively determine whether it belongs to Boelter. Law enforcement officers were searching the area, including nearby homes, the officials said. The officials could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Sunday NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone’s on edge here, because we know that this man will kill at a second.”

Residents of rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, received an emergency alert via text message about the located vehicle Sunday.

“Keep your doors locked and vehicles secured,” the alert read. “Law enforcement will be going to area residences to ask to search properties.”

The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned.

Brightly colored flowers and small American flags were placed Sunday on the gray marbled stone of the Minnesota State Capitol along with a photo of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including, “You were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power.”

The Hoffmans were recovering from surgery, according to their nephew, Mat Ollig.

“It’s just a long road to healing,” he said Sunday.

No details on motive

Authorities have not yet given details on a motive.

A list of about 70 or so names was found in writings recovered from the fake police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, the officials said. The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates and information about healthcare facilities, according to the officials.

A Minnesota official told the AP that lawmakers who had been outspoken in favor of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The attacks prompted warnings to other state elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway, including one that drew tens of thousands to the State Capitol in St. Paul. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car.

Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect’s vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol, a person familiar with the matter told AP. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The suspect

Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.

Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home shortly after 2 a.m. and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds. After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to proactively check on Hortman’s home. There they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer leaving the house. Officers confronted him, and the suspect fired on them before retreating back into the home and fleeing on foot, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.

Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologize for his actions, though he didn’t say what he had done.

“I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. … I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused,” he wrote in messages viewed by the AP.

On social media, Gov. Tim Walz remembered Hortman Sunday as, “The most consequential Speaker in state history.”

Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power-sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title speaker emerita.