DES MOINES, Iowa — Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were both shot multiple times early Saturday morning in an assassination attempt.

Sen. Hoffman and Yvette were both injured, but survived, as Yvette dove on her daughter to shield her from the gunshots. Their daughter called the authorities around 2 a.m. on Saturday. For those in central Iowa, hearing the news about the couple was heartbreaking.

“I got a text early in the morning,” said Jimmy Wright, a music director at Star 102.5. “I was devasted, I was like okay how bad is the shooting, you know? Then I started getting more texts from other coworkers who worked with Yvette here in town, or knew Yvette really well.”

Wright worked with Yvette back in the 1990s, she was an on-air host and went by the name Kelly Foxx. John worked for Polk County and was one of the founders of the West Des Moines Democrats during that timespan. Wright and the couple were extremely close when they lived in Des Moines.

“She was a great person, he was a great person, their daughter, Hope, she’s great. So, it was kind of tough to watch and hear what happened, it was tough to hear,” said Wright. “We would meet after work and would talk about everything you know, your families, your vacation, friends. We talked about everything.”

Brooklyn Park, MN city communication staff told WHO 13 News that they could not confirm or deny that Iowa lawmakers or Iowa health care centers were on the shooter’s hitlist; but mentioned there were lawmakers from several states on it.

While Wright is very thankful for the Hoffman’s survival, and hopeful for a full recovery, the thought of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark being shot and killed is unsettling.

“No one deserves to die like that. Whether you have disagreements with them or not, whatever your political views may be, no one deserves that,” said Wright. “Some way, somehow we got to come back to the middle and embrace each other and help each other out.”

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