Vance Boelter search warrants: Authorities find nearly 50 guns, body bags and cash

GREEN ISLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Search warrants executed in the investigation of Vance Boelter, the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, reveal law enforcement recovered nearly 50 firearms, body bags, masks and another police squad-type car. 

Boelter is facing state and federal charges in the fatal shootings of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their Brooklyn Park home. He is also accused of shooting Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in addition to visiting two other lawmakers' homes on the night of the shooting. 

While the investigation remains ongoing, FOX 9 obtained a series of search warrants that shed light on what law enforcement discovered at Boelter's residences, storage unit and at the Hortman home. 

Green Isle residence search

Dig deeper:

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Boelter’s residence in Green Isle, including inside the house, outbuilding, and dumpster. 

During a search of the house, officers reportedly discovered some of the following items:

• A notecard with public officials' names and states
• 11 guns in basement storage
• Three firearms in the main floor safe
• 31 firearms in the gun safe room
• A plastic tote with misc. rifle magazines and ammunition
• A tub of misc. ammo from the residence
• $17,940 in U.S. currency in the upstairs closet safe
• Various laptops and computer towers

In the outbuilding, authorities reportedly found masks and a backpack containing two pistols, ammo and a ghillie suit. During a search of the dumpster, law enforcement recovered a firearm target, cardboard silhouette, packaging for firearm holsters and an empty knife box, according to records.

The search warrant also requested permission to search Boelter’s vehicles, detailing that he had at least 12 vehicles registered to him at the Green Isle address. It’s unclear how many vehicles were at the residence or in police custody. 

Minneapolis residence and storage locker 

Additional searches:

Investigators learned Boelter stayed at a Minneapolis residence on Freemont Avenue, which he reportedly visited after the shootings. 

There, police say they found an additional "retired squad" car with broken windows and additional papers inside, and additional notes and a list of names inside the residence.  

The documents also show Boelter rented a storage unit on June 10, and visited there before the shootings. When executing the search warrant, authorities found, in part, the following items. 

• A duffle bag with five body bags
• Gun cases
• Gun cleaning supplies
• Menards bag with gray tarp

Rep. Melissa Hortman's Brooklyn Park home 

What else:

Documents detail the various pieces of evidence found in and around Rep. Hortman’s Brooklyn Park home. 

The items, in part, include: 

• A partially loaded magazine found in the woods near the 8800 block of Inverness
• A light brown wig and full-head mask were found in the woods near the 8800 block of Inverness
• A vest located behind the 4100 block of Edinbrook Terrace
• Two sleep masks located behind the 4100 block of Edinbrook Terrace
• A replica gun found behind the 4000 block of Edinbrook Terrace
• Holster located behind a building at Edinburgh country club
• A conceal and carry badge found off a walking train near Edinburgh golf course

A police-style car recovered from Hortman’s driveway reportedly contained several firearms, including an AK47 purchased by Boelter in 1998 and two additional AK47’s purchased in May 2024, documents claim.  

The search warrant also details a variety of cartridge casings, fired projectiles and blood evidence collected from the scene. Authorities returned to the golf course area on Friday to search for additional evidence. It's unclear whether anything was found. 

Big picture view:

Law enforcement filed additional search warrants in this case seeking, among other things, permission to use a trap and trace device, access Boelter's bank and Amazon accounts, and collect his fingerprints and DNA sample. 

Boelter text messages

Phone records:

The warrants also seek phone records for Boelter and his family. According to one warrant, Boelter's first call following the shootings was to his son.

Previously, the criminal complaint against Boelter claimed Boelter had sent a group text to his family, saying: "Dad went to war last night… I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody."

The new warrants say Boelter also told his wife to leave the house and go to a family member's home "because people were coming with guns."

Minnesota lawmaker shootingsCrime and Public Safety