Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota lawmaker who was gunned down in what is described as a politically motivated attack, earned degrees at Boston University and Harvard.

Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed by an individual impersonating a police officer. Hortman was the former speaker of the Minnesota House of

The children of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman are speaking out on their parents' murders. “They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone," Sophie and Colin Hortman wrote in a statement obtained by PEOPLE Monday.

Sophie and Colin Hortman are responding to the fatal shooting of their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), appeared to blame the assassination of Smith’s friend, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, on the political left. Smith sought him out to chat.

Live updates: Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect to appear in court on murder charges after huge manhunt Almost 200 law enforcement — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County to apprehend suspect Vance Boelter.

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, who were both shot in their home by the suspect who is believed to have later killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, in a “politically motivated assassination” on Saturday, shared an update on their condition, noting they were “both incredibly lucky to be alive.”

State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were gunned down at their home early on Saturday morning, but survived. Melissa Hortman - the top Democratic legislator in the state House - and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed. Yvette Hoffman said in a statement that she and her husband John were "devastated" by the Hortmans' deaths.