US police hunt gunman after state lawmaker killed

A manhunt was underway Saturday for a gunman who shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state's governor said were politically motivated attacks.

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The shootings came as deep political divisions have riven the United States, the same day that tens of thousands of protesters across the country took to the streets against the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.

Authorities named the assailant as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, who was still at large and considered "armed and dangerous."

"We believe he's working to potentially flee the (Minneapolis-St Paul) area," Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told reporters.

Boelter had been spotted Saturday morning in the Minneapolis area on surveillance footage obtained from a business, the official said.

Superintendent Evans said authorities were still investigating the suspect's motives, and did not know if additional people were involved in the attacks.

Mr Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called "horrific violence" and said perpetrators would be prosecuted to "the fullest extent of the law."

Park, Governor Tim Walz told an earlier press conference.