Woman bashes Mpls shelter door with baseball bat
Three people were injured after a woman smashed a glass door at a Minneapolis women’s and children’s shelter. Police arrested the woman later in the week to face riot and property damage charges. Another man was reportedly arrested for his involvement, and police say more arrests related to the incident are possible.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man has been charged in an attack at a Minneapolis homeless shelter in September that left three people injured.
These charges come after a different man was mistakenly identified as the suspect and was charged. The charges were dropped against that man by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office when the mistake was learned.
READ MORE: Homeless shelter attacked in Minneapolis, 2 facing charges
Travin Willie Merritt, 30, has now been charged for his role in the attack. He is charged with four counts of second-degree assault, one count of second-degree riot and one count of carrying a gun without a permit.
Attack caught on camera
According to the charges, Minneapolis police responded to a disturbance outside of St. Anne’s Place, a homeless shelter for women and children in the city on Sept. 5. Once officers arrived at the scene, they found multiple people standing outside the building. Police then reviewed surveillance footage of the incident.
Surveillance footage shows the group of victims running into the shelter, and a few minutes later, Merritt walks towards the building and points a firearm at the door, court documents say.
Two of the victims, one of them holding an infant, were just inside the door where Merritt was allegedly pointing his firearm, the charges said.
Merritt then fires his gun at one of the victim’s unoccupied cars.
Earlier altercation
According to the charges, one of the victims told officers she and another victim had gotten into an earlier altercation with a group of women across the street from the shelter.
The group of women had reportedly come out of their house, yelling at the victim to move her car. The altercation then became physical. At some point during the altercation, Merritt became involved and hit one of the victims in the face and back of the head with his gun, court documents say.
He also hit another victim several times in the back of the head and fired two shots in the air.
The victims then retreated into the shelter as they were being chased by a group of women. An employee of St. Anne’s Place told officers she helped the victims close the door behind them, so the group couldn’t chase them inside. The employee then reportedly heard Merritt threaten to shoot the women and children.
Suspect misidentified
The male suspect was previously mistakenly identified as a different man, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said. The other man has a similar physical description, vehicle, and has a known relationship with Merritt’s co-defendant, Eureka Riser.
The investigation ultimately showed that the other man was at a different location at the time of the incident and was not involved. So the charges were dropped against him.
Riser was charged with second-degree riot and criminal damage to property for her role in the attack. Riser used a baseball bat to hit the front door of St. Anne’s Place during the altercation, causing around $10,000 in damage.
What’s next?
Merritt will have his first court appearance on Oct. 4. Riser’s next court appearance is on Nov. 6.
