Minneapolis developer Hamoudi Sabri said he will reopen the homeless encampment on his Lake Street property despite a Monday night shootout that left eight people injured.
“As soon as these guys go and are done with this investigation, we’re going right in,” Sabri told Sahan Journal on Tuesday. “This is the beauty of this fight. It’s not about money, it’s not about me.”
Minneapolis police, Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies and city regulatory services officials were present as the workers bulldozed the tents in the encampment Tuesday morning.
Minneapolis shooting
Police found multiple shell casings after an exchange of gunfire inside the encampment, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a late-night news conference.
Four out of eight sustained critical injuries and are receiving treatment. A tent caught fire while the police were investigating the site, although the cause of the fire was unclear.
This was the second mass shooting on Lake Street in less than 12 hours. Minneapolis police have not yet announced any arrests in either incident.
“I know it’s been a lot of violence lately, and we just want our community to know that we are not going to give up,” O’Hara said.
Past violations
Sabri and the city have been in tussle over this encampment since he invited homeless people to his property in July.
Last week, the City Council voted to enter litigation to sue Sabri for creating a public health nuisance at the encampment and file a motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting him from keeping the encampment on the property. Sabri said he intends to continue supporting people experiencing homelessness, even as he faces $20,000 in fines tied to 12 public health nuisance citations and a lawsuit.
According to the city, Sabri was issued multiple citations and directed to address the violations but did not comply.
“This is tragic. It is horrible. It’s unacceptable and sadly it’s not surprising,” said Mayor Jacob Frey at the news conference. “These homeless encampments are not safe either for the people that are in them, nor are they safe for the surrounding neighborhood,” he said. “We have tried to clear this encampment on multiple occasions. We were met with resistance by the property owner.”
‘This is a Band-Aid’
Neighbors watched as the city dismantled the encampment Tuesday. One neighbor, who lives across the street from the encampment, spoke to a family member of a former occupant on the phone as she watched the city crews.
“We were watching a movie, and then we just heard, boom, boom, boom,” she told Sahan Journal. “It sounded like it was fireworks, or even like thunder.”
The neighbor, who requested anonymity for privacy and safety, recalled hearing a second round of shots from the other end of the street soon after. She added that she knew some of the people living in the encampment whose families have been inquiring after them.
“This is a Band-Aid,” she said. “It’s just ridiculous to think that you can just end it right then and there, like it’s going to be over tomorrow.”
Wanagi Tawacipi Win, a Lakota resident of the neighborhood, was at the site on Tuesday morning burning sage and tobacco, and offering prayers for the victims of the shooting. She said many of the camp residents were Indigenous. “Being a Native person, it hits a little different.”
Complaints
Since July, the city has received 33 complaints and responded to 240 emergency calls from the encampment and surrounding blocks, the city’s director of regulatory services, Enrique Velazquez, said in an email to Sahan Journal.
“The calls included complaints about disturbances and suspicious persons to narcotics activity and behavioral crisis,” Velazquez said.
Minneapolis Health Commissioner Damon Chaplin reiterated that Sabri needs to follow city and state laws before housing people on the site. Those include putting up permanent structures, providing sanitation and addressing drug use at the site.
“This encampment is a public health nuisance,” Chaplin said in an email. “We want our community members to get the treatment they need and stable housing.”
‘I’m going to keep fighting’
This is the second encampment Sabri has opened since 2021 on property he owns. He operated a camp on a North Loop commercial property from December 2021 to March 2022 until the city shut it down.
Sabri has expressed his frustration at the city’s handling of homelessness and intends to continue offering space to the homeless until the city comes up with a solution to deal with the issue.
“These guys are mentally ill,” Sabri told Sahan Journal in an interview before yesterday’s shooting. “So the bad ones, they’re there, but not a lot. Majority of them are good. So it’s kind of heartbreaking to be honest.”
When the city shut down the encampment on his North Loop property, Sabri expressed appreciation for how city officials handled the situation. But he has since come to doubt the city’s commitment to housing those in need.
“Enough is enough. I’m going to keep fighting. Why? Because this is not a fight for me. I’m just defending the homeless.”
