Star Tribune
Man misidentified by police, charges dropped related to attack against Minneapolis homeless shelter
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has dropped criminal charges against a man who Minneapolis police mistakenly identified as an accomplice in a recent attack on a homeless shelter.
The swift reversal on Tuesday saw the dismissal in Hennepin County District Court of two counts of second-degree assault, illegal weapons possession, threats of violence and second-degree riot in connection the Sept. 5 attack on St. Anne’s Place at 2634 Russell Av. N.
“We have recently learned from our law enforcement partners at (the Minneapolis Police Department) that [man] was misidentified as the suspect in the St. Anne’s Place attack who pistol-whipped two people and fired a gun,” a statement from the County Attorney’s Office read. Police “shared this information with us right away as part of their ongoing investigation, and upon learning this information, we immediately began the process of filing a written dismissal.”
The statement said the man, who was arrested Friday, would be released from jail “as soon as possible.” As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, the man was still in custody, according the jail’s online inmate roster.
The Star Tribune has asked for Minneapolis police for an explanation about how the misidentification occurred.
There is so far one person charged stemming from the attack. Eureka D. Riser, 33, of Minneapolis, was arrested Thursday and is charged with second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon and first-degree damage to property.
Riser, also known as Eureka Willis, is alleged to have been among at least three people who 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 the violence, resulting in at least one assault and gunfire damage to a vehicle.
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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