A Hennepin County judge on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order requested by the City of Minneapolis in its legal battle against a property owner who turned a south Minneapolis parking lot into a homeless encampment plagued by crime and violence.
The order means Hamoudi Sabri, who owns the lot just off East Lake Street as well as other property across the Twin Cities, cannot allow a homeless encampment on any of his Minneapolis properties until further court rulings.
Tuesday's ruling came one week after a mass shooting left one person dead and several others injured at the encampment, which the Minneapolis City Council has tried for months to shutdown due to the growing number of emergency calls, health and public safety concerns, and community wellbeing.
In a court filing, it appeared that the City of Minneapolis and Sabri met following an initial hearing last Wednesday where a judge encouraged the sides to reach an agreement before issuing a ruling. Those talks appeared to reach an impasse after the City requested 90 days to figure things out, while Sabri was willing to wait 30 days.
"Encampments are not safe, not for residents, neighbors, or surrounding businesses," wrote Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "Once services and shelter are offered, encampments must be closed. This ruling allows us to do exactly that and move people toward safer, more stable housing."
The City cleared the encampment the day after the mass shooting, which was the second in the span of just hours and two miles apart from one another.
No other court dates have been set.