Melissa Hortman, slain Minnesota lawmaker, attended Boston University and Harvard
Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state representative who was shot and killed alongside her husband in what Gov. Tim Walz called a politically motivated attack early Saturday morning, was a graduate of Boston University who later went on to study at Harvard University.
A massive manhunt is underway in Minnesota for 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, who police say shot and killed Hortman and her husband Mark. Boelter allegedly also shot Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette about five miles away. Hoffman and his wife were both injured and subsequently underwent surgery.
Melissa Hortman's Boston ties
Boston University confirmed that Hortman graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and political science.
University president Melissa Gilliam said in a statement to that the campus community is in shock.
"The entire Boston University community grieves the loss of one of our cherished alumnae, Melissa Hortman, who was a beloved and respected public servant. We send deep condolences to her family, her friends, and to the people of Minnesota on this tragic and saddest of days," Gilliam said.
In 2020, Hortman earned her midcareer master's in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. Hortman was featured in an that year.
"Melissa was a dedicated and inspiring public servant. This is a devastating loss for the HKS community, and she will be missed by faculty, staff, and so many alumni who studied with her during her time on campus," a Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson told WBZ-TV in a statement following Hortman's death.
"She had a disarming charm."
Criminal Justice Professor Richard D. Parker, who taught Hortman at the Kennedy School, remembers her as a bright student who was always on time for class.
"She had a disarming charm. I can only describe it as a midwestern decency," Parker said, adding that Harvard was a dream come true for Hortman, who applied to Harvard for both her bachelor's degree and law degree but was not accepted.
Parker said he had always wondered if Hortman, who was already a representative when she attended Harvard, would go on to national politics.
"I know that Minnesota has lost something very important with her death," Parker said. "And I think the nation has as well. That she could have been one of these really, really gifted leaders that brought us together and moved us forward together."
The FBI is assisting Minnesota law enforcement in the search for Boelter.
