MINNEAPOLIS — Weeks after an attack on a shelter for unhoused families shocked a Minneapolis neighborhood, a man has been charged for his alleged actions.
According to court documents, 30-year-old Travin Merritt is facing a bevy of charges, including second-degree riot and four counts of assault after he allegedly attacked multiple residents of the facility on Sept. 5.
The incident resulted in People Serving People clearing out St. Anne’s Place, a homeless shelter for women and non-gender binary led families in North Minneapolis.
The MPD was initially called to the facility for a disturbance, where they found several people standing outside the building. Officers reviewed security footage which showed Merritt walk to the front door of the building and point a gun at the entrance, according to the criminal complaint.
Merritt then allegedly walked to the vehicle of one of the victims and shot at the unoccupied car.
The victims of the attack told police they had been in an altercation with a group of women earlier in the day, after that group told the victims to move their car, according to the document.
After that altercation became physical, Merritt allegedly intervened and hit one of the women in the face and back of the head with a handgun, the women told police.
Merritt allegedly told police he was involved in the first altercation because he saw his sister, Eureka Riser, fighting with a group of women. Riser has also been charged with attacking the facility.
“Mr. Merritt’s actions were reprehensible,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, in a statement. “This was a violent attack at a shelter housing some of our most vulnerable community members. It is unacceptable, and we will hold Mr. Merritt accountable.”
The MPD initially misidentified the man from the video as Robert Brent. Brent was released from custody and the charges against him were dropped, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
"Mr. Merritt was previously erroneously identified as another individual with a similar physical description, similar vehicle, and a known relationship to the co-defendant in this matter, Eureka Riser. Subsequent investigation revealed that this other individual was in another location at the time and was not involved," said the attorney's office.
