Accused Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter's alleged plan to kill more politicians on his target list was foiled by a police sergeant's proactive hunch, and his capture came after he made a big misstep that exposed his whereabouts to an eagle-eyed neighbor, authorities said.

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.

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith honored the late former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, on the Senate Floor on Tuesday, June 17.

Both state and federal officials are pursuing murder charges against a man they say killed a state lawmaker and her husband. A federal case could lead to the death penalty.

Early Saturday morning, Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were assassinated in their home.

In one of her final interviews, Rep. Melissa Hortman made a plea for more bipartisanship and face-to-face conversations, rather than social media echo chambers.

Gov. Tim Walz called the event a “politically motivated assassination," with the attack marking the latest such incident over the last several years.