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 during a traffic stop in the 1800 block of Lowry Avenue N. around 7 p.m. Friday and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon.

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

Riser, also known as Eureka Willis, is believed to have been part of a group of at least three people who went to St. Anne's Place on September 5 and threatened residents by smashing doors with a baseball bat. According to police, an argument between residents of the home and neighbors escalated into violence that resulted in at least one assault and a car damaged by gunfire.

O'Hara said in the police statement: “I am grateful to the investigators who went to such great lengths to identify this suspect and for disseminating the information department-wide. Through a coordinated effort, officers were able to locate and arrest this individual without incident.”

The chief added that further arrests are possible in this case, which is still open and active.

Hoang Murphy, CEO of People Serving People, which operates the shelter, said earlier this week that the four-hour incident was the culmination of a dispute between shelter residents and neighbors over street parking that began days earlier and escalated into violence.