Second person arrested in connection with attack on north Minneapolis homeless shelter

A second person has been arrested in connection with an attack on a north Minneapolis homeless shelter that forced dozens of women and children to relocate last week, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Friday night.

The 35-year-old man was arrested about 7 p.m. Friday during a traffic stop in the 1800 block of Lowry Avenue N., and booked into the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, discharge of a weapon, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The man is the second person to be arrested in connection with the attack on St. Anne’s Place, 2634 Russell Av. N. Eureka D. Riser, 33, of Minneapolis, was arrested Thursday and is charged with second-degree rioting with a dangerous weapon and first-degree damage to property, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. She was in custody Friday, a day after Minneapolis police confirmed her arrest.

Riser, also known as Eureka Willis, is alleged to have been in a group of at least three people who on Sept. 5 went to St. Anne’s Place and threatened residents, smashing doors with a baseball bat. According to police, an argument between shelter residents and neighbors led to violence, resulting in at least one assault and gunfire damage to a vehicle.

Residents were forced to vacate the shelter, leaving the building boarded up with plywood and watched over by armed security. Building managers estimate that property damage amounts to more than $10,000, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

Said O’Hara, in the police statement: “I am thankful for the investigators who labored to identify this suspect and for broadcasting the information department wide. Through a coordinated effort, officers were able to locate and arrest this individual without incident.”

The chief added that more arrests were possible in the case, which remains open and active.

Hoang Murphy, the CEO of People Serving People, which operates the shelter, said earlier this week that the four-hour episode was the culmination of an argument between shelter residents and neighbors over street parking that started days earlier and spilled over into violence.

According to the criminal complaint, which cites surveillance footage, Riser allegedly swung a baseball bat against the shelter’s doors, shattering glass while residents were inside. Another member of the group pointed what appears to be a gun at the front door of the building, the complaint says.

Residents have since been relocated to a hotel for safety reasons, costing People Serving People $9,000 a night — a figure that Murphy called unsustainable.

Officials with People Serving People have criticized the initial response from Minneapolis police, saying officers were dismissive of victims and made no arrests despite security footage clearly showing destruction of property and the faces of suspects.