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. 

Daniel Hernandez, the owner of Colonial Market and Restaurant in south Minneapolis, points up to a sea of brightly colored pinatas in the store.

“The most traditional pinata is the one that is the star,” he said. He’s giving a tour of the store’s various offerings. The star pinatas are the top sellers and are made in the U.S., including in Minnesota, by Mexican employees.

He also gushed about the various meats in the butcher shop that are popular and showed off the space where his workers produce tortillas, which he said are served in half of all Mexican restaurants in Minnesota.

Hernandez has another section that’s special: vegetables.

“I’m very proud that we bring number one tomatoes,” he said, referring to Grade A produce. “They’re really, really beautiful … Cilantro, I love the smell of cilantro.”

A boy who dreamed of success

Hernandez, who grew up just outside of Acapulco, Mexico, has always been excited about work and figuring out how to make money. 

At 10, he would take people’s garbage to a dump three miles away for three pesos. He hired his older brother to help him carry the refuse.

“I will knock on the doors and say, Hey, can I take your garbage?” he said. “I was making money. I was always an entrepreneur. I always have my own little businesses, which I really enjoy and like.”

Like thousands of others in Minnesota, Hernandez said he came to the U.S. as teenager and has DACA status — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

As an adult, the hustle continued. Hernandez, now 40, has worked in restaurants, construction, landscaping, car washing, and dishwashing. 

“I did everything, anything I could in order to make it,” he said.

By the time he was 24, Hernandez started up an event photography business. He later moved on to magazine publishing; he opened a tax and accounting business and later invested in a car dealership.

In mid-2019 his business partner told him about a smaller market, Marisa’s, that was up for sale.

“So I said, ‘All right, let’s do that.’”

Bringing fresh produce to a food desert

Hernandez hopes that the fresh vegetables he is so proud of will also be a hit with customers at the grand opening of the second Colonial Market.

In February 2023, Aldi Supermarket closed its north Minneapolis store at Penn and Lowry Avenues, leaving nearby community members frustrated that another supermarket had shut its doors. 

Earlier this summer, Minneapolis city leaders announced Colonial Market and its Mexican restaurant will take over the site.

City council member LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the neighborhood, said she remembered what questions came to mind when she learned Aldi would close.

“What’s next? How can we ensure that people don’t go deeper into a food desert?,” Vetaw said.

She said she met Hernandez more than a year ago and he told her about his vision for the space and Vetaw said she looks forward to walking or biking to the new supermarket.

“I’m excited for the future of what Colonial is going to bring, not only the fresh fruits and vegetables but the jobs right here in this community,” she said.

The new Colonial Market will be located in a zip code where 34 percent of residents identify as African American; 34 percent identify as white and 14 percent identify as Hispanic or Latino.

And while the market will have a Mexican restaurant and sell ingredients used in Latin American dishes, it will also stock foods and ingredients for customers with different tastes.

Not only will Colonial Market bring fresh food back to this part of north Minneapolis, Hernandez said it will create 40 jobs paying between $18 to $20 per hour that come with healthcare benefits and paid time off. 

The north Minneapolis store is expected to open in December. Hernandez also plans to open a second store in the Hi-Lake Shopping Center in October. And he says there are another five locations in the Twin Cities metro region in the works.

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) — Minneapolis has been selected to host two NCAA Tournaments. U.S. Bank Stadium has been chosen to host the Division One Wrestling tourney in 2028 and Target Center has been picked to host the first and second rounds of the 2027 Division One Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The wrestling championship is expected to bring more than $45 million and over 110,000 attendees to the city. Chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Michael Vekich says they are honored to be able to host the tournaments and help grow the events and look forward to hosting them.

The announcement comes on the heels of other major events coming to Minneapolis this summer including the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, the 2024 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, WWE Summer Slam, and the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament.

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