Vance Boelter, the man accused of shooting and killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband over the weekend, has ties to the Sheboygan community.
He lived in the Town of Sheboygan for several years with his wife, Jenny, in a house near County Road J and County Road Y.
READ ALSO: Wisconsin lawmakers respond after names found on alleged shooter's list in Minnesota
TMJ4 spoke with his former neighbor, Robbie Kilgore, who expressed shock at the news.
“Holy crap, I couldn’t believe it," he said. "We were taken aback.”
Watch: Accused Minnesota lawmaker killer Vance Boelter has ties to Sheboygan
Kilgore added that his daughter used to play with the Boelters’ children and mentioned that his family never observed any behavior that suggested Vance would commit such an act.
Vance worked at Johsonville, Kilgorre said, recalling that Vance would occasionally drop off goods at their doorstep.
Records indicate that Boelter was also involved in religious activities, having led a group called Revoformation Ministries Inc. An archived webpage reveals that Vance was ordained in 1993 and preached internationally.
The website stated, "[Vance] made several trips to violent areas in the Gaza Strip and West Bank where suicide bombings were taking place. He sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer."
Kilgore emphasized that Vance’s strong Christian faith was another reason they never expected to see violence from him.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.