Alf Ray Davis, 52, of Saint Paul, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with four offenses stemming from a group assault at a Minneapolis bus platform on March 25. The allegations include a knife chase and an assault that left one man minimally responsive and another with a serious back laceration.
Metro Transit Police responded at about 5:15 p.m. to a report of a riot involving 10 to 12 people at the bus platform near Penn Avenue and Lowry Avenue, according to mn crime. Officers found two adult male victims: one on the ground and minimally responsive, and another with a large, heavily bleeding laceration on his lower back.
Victim Says He Was Attacked While Trying to Help a Friend
The second victim told officers that his friend had been assaulted by a group of six to seven people at the bus stop. He said he tried to intervene, after which multiple people kicked and punched him. He believed his back laceration happened during the attack, the outlet reported.
Investigators reportedly believed the laceration was more likely caused by a different assailant using broken glass than during the beating the man described.
Officers Spot a Knife, Then Identify Davis
Officers saw a man with a knife and ordered him to drop it. He complied, and police identified him as Davis, according to the outlet.
Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage that allegedly showed Davis draw a knife, chase the second victim, and kick and punch him while he was on the ground, the outlet reported.
Four Charges, Ranging From Felony to Misdemeanor
Davis now faces second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony, along with aiding and abetting second-degree riot while armed with a dangerous weapon, also a felony. He additionally faces aiding and abetting third-degree riot involving unlawful force or violence, a gross misdemeanor, and aiding and abetting fifth-degree assault inflicting or attempting bodily harm, a misdemeanor.
The charges were filed Tuesday, September 22, in Hennepin County District Court, nearly six months after the alleged riot. Minnesota classifies assault by degree under state statutes, with lower-level offenses ranging from misdemeanor status up to 10-year felony exposure depending on weapon use and the severity of harm, while first-degree assault can carry up to 20 years in prison. Riot offenses in Minnesota fall under Section 609.71 of state law, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes.
Rider safety perceptions are not assault statistics
The Metropolitan Council’s Quarter 1 2026 update, summarizing Metro Transit’s Fall 2025 customer survey, said riders felt safer on buses than on light rail and safer aboard vehicles than while waiting at stops or stations. The update also reported that 68% of riders agreed transit police make them feel safer. These are measures of rider perception; they do not provide assault counts or show how reported assaults at buses and stops have changed over time. See the Metropolitan Council’s safety update.
The case page notes that the allegations stem from a criminal complaint and that Davis, like any defendant, is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. It remains unclear whether anyone else involved in the reported riot has faced charges.
