A lifelong friend of the alleged Minnesota gunman says Vance Boelter had been struggling to find work and was wrestling with a “darkness that was inside of him” at the time of the shootings.

Hours after the shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers over the weekend, authorities asked David Carlson to identify his lifelong friend in a harrowing photograph. Carlson says he had known and

Vance Boelter, accused of shooting two politicians and their spouses, appears to have associated with Christian nationalist institutions

Early Saturday morning, when a man dressed like a police officer knocked at the home of a Minnesota state legislator, marked the start of nearly 40 hours of violence and fear that swept through towns in an arc around Minneapolis.

The suspect remains at large while hundreds of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies conduct an intensive manhunt.

Vance Boelter, the suspect wanted for fatally shooting a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband has reportedly been identified, according to the Associated Press.

The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion.

New details about Vance Boelter, accused of fatally shooting a state lawmaker and her husband, were revealed in court documents.