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Joe Thompson shared details of the nerve-wracking apprension of the accused assassin, as authorities all believed he wouldn’t give up without further violence.

MINNEAPOLIS — The “nightmare scenario” allegedly carried out by 57-year-old Vance Boelter led to the largest manhunt in Minnesota history.

“The idea that the killer was on the loose and potentially hunting down other elected officials is a nightmare scenario,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson.

Thompson says one of the most chilling details he learned was that Boelter stopped by the homes of two additional lawmakers the night he carried out the shootings

“It made clear that he intended to continue to kill elected officials until someone put a stop to it,” Thompson said.

Thompson says the U.S. Attorney’s Office can charge the case federally because Boelter stalked his victims using the internet and GPS.

“And obviously it’s about the most serious case there can be, so federal charges seem appropriate here,” Thompson said.

It’s not up to Thompson whether his office will seek the death penalty — that decision will come from a unit in the Department of Justice, and he says the process could take some time.

So many details Thompson revealed in his press conference and criminal complaint are shocking — including Boelter buying a getaway car from a stranger at a bus stop who authorities believe is innocent. And a text message Boelter allegedly sent to his family that says, “Dad went to war last night.”

“You can infer that his ‘war’ was his war on these officials, his assassination plots or plans. But that’s still ongoing and I think it remains to be seen what motivated him and what he intended to do and why he intended to do it,” Thompson said.

Thompson was at the command center when Boelter finally surrendered — an end to the manhunt everyone involved feared would end in more violence.