'The support has meant the world': Café Rica welcomes back patrons after fatal shooting

BATTLE CREEK — Through its inclusive space and its involvement in downtown events, Café Rica has consistently shown up for the community.

On Tuesday, the community made sure to show up for Café Rica.

Five days after a shooting left one man dead and a police officer injured inside the coffee shop, residents poured in Tuesday morning to support Café Rica and its owners Tristan and Jackson Bredehoft as they officially reopened the shop at 62 E. Michigan Ave.

“I want to support them to be able to move on from that," Donna Simbulan said while visiting Café Rica Tuesday morning. "I felt sad and shocked (at what happened).”

Staff members acknowledged things were a little busier than a normal Tuesday. For the Bredehofts, reopening is "part of the healing process."

"We wanted to give ourselves and the staff the space to process everything first before jumping back in," Tristan said Tuesday. "We do feel a comfort about seeing our community come in today. The support has meant the world, we are very appreciative of the community we have."

For Café Rica regular Brittany Haire, there was no place she would've rather been Tuesday.

“I love being here, it has always felt comfortable to me. It feels very layered," Haire said. "Supporting the community is obviously important to me, supporting small businesses is important to me. I come here at least once a week, sometimes two or three times a week so it’s important to me to also support all of the relationships that I’m making with the people in the community and the people who are making my food and my coffee."

Officers from the Battle Creek Police Department initially responded to Café Rica at 9 a.m. Thursday on a report of an unwanted subject inside the coffee shop. The subject, later identified as Dario Agudelo of San Antonio, Texas, "was exhibiting behavior that was concerning to management," police said, and had been asked to leave the establishment.

When officers arrived, he left without incident.

Six hours later, at approximately 3 p.m., police were alerted that Agudelo allegedly assaulted someone on North Monroe Street, near the W.K. Kellogg House.

While officers were searching for Agudelo, he returned to Café Rica at approximately 3:30 p.m. Management immediately requested police to respond due to continued concerns about Agudelo's behavior.

An officer entered the coffee shop and found Agudelo seated at a table. He was initially compliant, but as the officer attempted to handcuff him, he began to resist.

The officer attempted to tase Agudelo; however "it had no effect," Battle Creek Police Chief Shannon Bagley told reporters Friday.

Agudelo then rushed the officer, reaching both hands for her firearm as he knocked her to the ground and attempted to disarm her.

"Patrons inside the establishment rushed to the officer’s aid and attempted to assist her," Bagley explained. "As backup officers were arriving, they observed Mr. Agudelo on top of, and fighting, with the officer."

One of the backup officers attempted to tase Agudelo, but it had no effect. During the struggle, Agudelo continued to attempt to disarm the officer, ultimately shooting her in the leg.

One of the backup officers then shot Agudelo to stop the altercation.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Café Rica welcomes back patrons after fatal shooting