Hennepin County charges man with assault, riot in last month’s attack on family homeless shelter

A man allegedly fired shots into the sky, shot a car and pointed a gun at a woman holding an infant while terrorizing residents of St. Anne’s Place, a 54-person shelter for homeless families in north Minneapolis last month, according to charges filed Thursday.

Travin Willie Merritt, 30, of Minneapolis was charged with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count each of second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit in connection with the attack.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed the charges two weeks after it dropped charges against another man, who had been incorrectly identified by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Eureka D. Riser, 33, of Minneapolis was also charged with two felonies in connection with the attack, which occurred on Sept. 5 at 2634 Russell Av. N.

Merritt, who told police that Riser is his sister, did not have an attorney listed for him.

The homeless shelter was evacuated and boarded with plywood after the attack. Residents still have not returned.

People Serving People CEO Hoang Murphy said his organization, which operates St. Anne’s Place, hadn’t been notified of the charges or that Merritt was arrested on Oct. 1. The shelter’s residents initially were moved to a hotel, at a cost of $9,000 per night, and then to a downtown shelter. That meant several beds at that facility were not available for others in need, Murphy said.

“We’re not going to return families until it’s safe to do so, so this is one step towards that,” he said. “This is what families and staff were asking for: that the folks who did this harm, that it was addressed and it was demonstrated that even if you’re a homeless person, or staying at a homeless shelter, even if you live in north [Minneapolis], justice will still be provided for you.”

Security cameras recorded repeated assaults on residents of St. Anne’s Place on the night of Sept. 5. Footage from three cameras at the shelter showed people — apparently neighbors from two homes across the street — attacking the property. The entire incident lasted about four hours. Shelter staff said ongoing disputes over street parking led up to the attack.

Police handling of the case has been criticized. Officers were called to the scene but made no arrests, and once they left neighbors began attacking a resident’s car again.

Police spokesman Garrett Parten told the Minnesota Star Tribune that the incident involved a fight between two groups of people. He said police hadn’t seen the security footage and that the shelter’s narrative was “not accurate.”

People Serving People then provided a still image from an interior camera showing police officers using St. Anne’s computers to watch the security footage on Sept. 5.

According to the criminal charges against Merritt:

He approached the building with a gun and pointed it at the front door while a woman was on the side of the door holding an infant. Merritt then left, got in his car and shot at the woman’s empty vehicle.

Another woman at the building told police that an argument with neighbors across the street over parking turned physical. Merritt came out of the building and struck the woman in the back of her head with a gun. He then walked up to another woman and hit her in the head multiple times with the same weapon, nearly dislocating her eyeball and causing vision problems. He told the women they needed to get back and fired two shots in the air.

At that point, several residents ran inside St. Anne’s Place and a staff member barricaded the door behind them. That staff member told police that Merritt ran up to the door and said “something to the effect of, he will shoot women and children.”

After Merritt was arrested, police searched his home and found a .38-caliber revolver with one round of live ammunition in a dresser drawer.

Merritt told police that Riser and another sister were involved in the altercation. He said he tried to pull them away from the fight. When that didn’t work, he said, he fired into the air. He denied hitting anyone with his gun but said there was a large fight and “everyone was hitting each other with objects.” He said he later threw the gun away to dispose of evidence.

Merritt was being held in Hennepin County jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. He is awaiting trial in Ramsey County on a separate charge of carrying a pistol without a permit. Riser posted $20,000 bail; her next court date is set for Nov. 6.

Staff writers Susan Du and Paul Walsh contributed to this report.