Leaked DHS Memo Warned Of Attacks Like Minnesota Shootings

A confidential DHS memo obtained by ABC News last year warned about the risk of attacks like the targeted shootings of Minnesota Democrats State Sen.  John Hoffman and Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman.

A shelter-in-place order went out early Saturday morning after the grim discovery that the two lawmakers and their spouses were shot overnight in their homes in separate attacks. The suspect — still at large as of this writing — reportedly may have been impersonating a law enforcement officer.

The attack comes a little over a year after ABC News obtained a DHS memo sounding the alarm on these sorts of attacks:

Threats to high-profile officials are on the rise, and would-be attackers seeking to cause harm or fear are increasingly trying to hit them where they live – literally – according to a new federal intelligence bulletin.

A concerning “recent uptick” in personal residences targeted has left well-known people in both the public and private sector, their families and their staff “vulnerable to attack” in their own homes – and comes at a moment already marked by historic partisan tensions and volatility, analysts at the Department of Homeland Security said in a briefing memo issued on March 11.

The confidential memo, obtained by ABC News, details how threat actors, espousing a range of ideologies and promoting these attacks online, have moved beyond more traditional targets to those with less robust security measures – like home addresses. The pivot has posed “multiple challenges” for law enforcement working to detect and disrupt insidious plots.

News of the attacks was slow to spead Saturday morning, with local news covering the shootings for hours before cable news even mentioned the attacks.

The suspect or suspects are still at large as of this writing, and a motive has not been determined, but as the memo warned, the larger threat is assessed to be from individuals multiple ideologies.

Watch coverage above via FOX 9.