Sophie and Colin Hortman are the children of Melissa and Mark Hortman, the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband who were tragically killed in a politically motivated attack on June 14, 2025. Their parents’ murders sent shockwaves through their community and the nation, but in the days following, Colin and Sophie stepped into the spotlight not just as grieving kids, but as voices of resilience, love, and a call for unity.
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How Old Are Sophie and Colin Hortman?
While their exact ages aren’t specified in the reports, we know Sophie (who also goes by Sophia) and Colin are young adults—old enough to articulate their grief with heartbreaking clarity but still at an age where losing a parent feels unimaginable. Their parents would have celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary in August 2025, meaning Melissa and Mark likely had their kids in their early to mid-20s. That puts Sophie and Colin somewhere in their late 20s or early 30s, old enough to have built independent lives but young enough that their parents were still the “bright lights at the center” of their world.
Colin and Sophie grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in the same house their parents bought when they were starting their family: a home filled with love, laughter, and, as friends recall, incredible brownies (Melissa’s specialty, always made with Ghirardelli mix). Their childhood was one of warmth and engagement; their parents weren’t the type to retreat to another room when friends came over. Instead, they’d be right in the middle of the chaos, asking about dreams, telling stories, and making everyone feel welcome.
Colin, in particular, was a standout swimmer in high school, so good that his name stayed on his hometown pool’s record board years after graduation. Sophie’s life hasn’t been as publicly detailed, but the way she and her brother speak about their parents suggests a closeness that transcends the usual parent-child bond. Their statement after the shooting wasn’t just a formal press release; it was a love letter to the people who raised them, a testament to the kind of parents who made their kids feel “boundless” love every single day.
The Legacy They Carry Forward
In the wake of their parents’ deaths, Sophie and Colin didn’t just mourn, they invited the world to mourn with them, in the most beautiful and human ways possible. Their public statement wasn’t just about grief; it was a roadmap for honoring Melissa and Mark’s legacy. They asked people to plant trees, visit parks, pet dogs (golden retrievers preferred, but any pup would do), bake something delicious, and tell cheesy dad jokes because those were the things that made their parents’ lives rich.
Statement from Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark:
“The best way to honor our parents’ memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.” pic.twitter.com/XF4GGbdDOe
— Caroline Cummings (@CaroRCummings) June 17, 2025
Their words revealed so much about who Melissa and Mark were: Mark, the quick-witted dad who could make a room burst into laughter, and Melissa, the kind of mom who’d pull cookies out of the oven while discussing policy with a bunch of teenagers. Colin and Sophie’s grief is intertwined with gratitude: for the officers who tried to save their parents, for the community wrapping around them, and for the years they had with two people who clearly knew how to love fiercely and fully.
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But perhaps the most striking thing about Sophie and Colin is their refusal to let this tragedy be defined by fear. Instead, they’ve framed it as a call to action: “Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear,” they wrote. They didn’t just lose their parents; they lost a mom who was a powerhouse in Minnesota politics, a champion for clean energy and education, and a dad who made everyone around him feel valued. Yet, their response wasn’t to retreat, it was to urge others to stand up for justice, to love their neighbors, and to make the world “just a little better for someone else.”
That’s who Colin and Sophie Hortman are: not just the children of a tragedy, but the carriers of a legacy. They’re the ones who, in the darkest moment of their lives, reminded us all to hold our loved ones closer, to laugh at dumb jokes, and to keep fighting for the things that matter. And if that’s not a testament to how Melissa and Mark raised them, nothing is.
