Da'Voncea L. Griffo, a 27-year-old man from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was fatally shot during a chaotic early-morning gathering in the city's Frogtown neighborhood on July 18, 2026. Police were sent to the area of Edmund Avenue West and North Kent Street at about 4:20 a.m. after callers reported hearing roughly 20 gunshots. When officers arrived, they encountered a large crowd and found Griffo unresponsive in the street with extensive gunshot injuries to his head and face. People at the scene were already attempting CPR, and officers took over until paramedics arrived. Griffo was placed in an ambulance but was pronounced dead at approximately 4:38 a.m. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds and classified his death as a homicide.
The gunfire erupted around an after-party taking place in the 500 block of Kent Street. Investigators found a substantial amount of ballistic evidence spread through the area, including spent casings near the intersection and additional casings and blood around the entrance of a nearby building. Authorities ultimately recovered 26 shell casings representing three different calibers, indicating that more than one firearm was discharged during the confrontation. A woman who had been attending the gathering was also shot in the upper leg and later arrived at Regions Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. Another wounded man, later identified as Christopher Germaine Burke-Harris, was brought to the same hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper thigh.
According to the criminal complaint, the wounded woman told investigators she had been attending an after-party connected to a birthday celebration when she noticed a man in a hooded sweatshirt who appeared angry. Shortly before shooting began, she heard someone in the area telling another person not to do something there. She then saw the hooded man produce a black handgun and began running as shots were fired. She was struck in the leg during the burst of gunfire. Investigators later focused on Burke-Harris after reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with Griffo's relatives and other witnesses.
The surveillance evidence described by prosecutors became central to the murder case. Video allegedly showed Burke-Harris initially wearing a red hat and white shirt before going to a vehicle, discarding the hat and changing into a cream-colored hooded sweatshirt. The footage reportedly showed him returning toward the entrance of the building where Griffo was located. As Griffo backed away, Burke-Harris allegedly pointed toward him, drew a handgun and fired five shots. Investigators recovered cartridge casings from the location where authorities say the gunman was standing. Griffo's stepmother also told police that relatives who had witnessed the shooting identified Burke-Harris as the person who shot him.
Burke-Harris gave investigators a different account. While being treated for his own gunshot wound at Regions Hospital, he said he had been outside among the crowd when gunfire suddenly erupted, that his legs went numb after he was struck and that he fell without seeing who had shot him. He told investigators that he was celebrating the anniversary of his release from prison with relatives and denied taking part in the violence. When detectives showed him surveillance images, he acknowledged that he was the person seen earlier wearing the red hat and white shirt but denied that he was the person later seen firing while wearing the hooded sweatshirt.
The timing of the shooting drew additional attention because July 18, 2026, marked exactly two years since Burke-Harris had been released from prison. He had previously served approximately 14 years for a second-degree murder conviction stemming from a 2010 killing. During his interview following the Frogtown shooting, he told investigators that he had changed his lifestyle since leaving prison and was no longer involved in violence or firearms. Prosecutors nevertheless charged the 37-year-old Burke-Harris on July 20 with second-degree intentional murder in connection with Griffo's death.
The investigation later expanded beyond the alleged fatal shooter. Police arrested Anthony Michael Rivera and Treheem Smith after surveillance footage and other evidence indicated that both men had been present with Burke-Harris at the gathering and allegedly played roles during or after the gunfire. Rivera, 28, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm or ammunition because a prior felony threats-of-violence conviction prohibited him from legally possessing a gun. Surveillance video allegedly showed Rivera firing a handgun during the commotion. Rivera told investigators that he had fired in self-defense.
Investigators said Rivera also admitted that after the shooting he placed a gun in Smith's vehicle as the men fled the area. Police obtained a search warrant for Smith's vehicle. Although Rivera's firearm was not recovered there, officers reportedly found a hat matching the one Burke-Harris had been seen wearing before changing clothes immediately before the fatal shooting. Surveillance footage also allegedly showed Smith helping the wounded Burke-Harris into a vehicle and then returning to his own vehicle and leaving the scene. Smith, 29, was charged with aiding an offender based on allegations that he helped conceal evidence connected to the homicide. Authorities also noted that Smith had previous felony convictions for first-degree assault.
By July 23, Rivera and Smith were being held in the Ramsey County Jail and had been scheduled for court appearances. Burke-Harris remained the person prosecutors accused of personally firing the shots that killed Griffo, while Rivera's charge concerned his alleged possession and discharge of a firearm during the wider exchange of gunfire and Smith's charge concerned alleged efforts to assist an offender and conceal evidence afterward. Publicly available reporting through August 11, 2026, describes the cases as pending criminal prosecutions; no trial verdict or conviction arising from Griffo's killing had yet been reported.
