St. Paul car enthusiast found dead in garage identified by family, friends

Friends and family of a Twin Cities car enthusiast found dead after what police described as a "violent assault" inside a garage have identified the victim as Erik Berger.

The 33-year-old St. Paul man was found by his parents on the ground of a garage at the Chanhassen AutoPlex facility on the 8100 block of Audubon Road around 4 p.m. Friday, according to the Carver County Sheriff's Office.

Berger's parents carried out CPR but he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. Police said on Monday Berger died from "both knife and gunshot wounds."

Authorities added that a person of interest in Berger's death was found dead later at a residence in Minneapolis on the 600 block of S. Washington Avenue.

Daniel Balto, 35, has been identified as the person of interest as of Monday afternoon. Investigators said Balto appears to have died "from a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Both Balto and Berger were known to each other.

Balto is the founder and CEO of popular automotive enthusiast platform Carmmunity.

The Chanhassen AutoPlex is a vehicle storage facility that is popular among car collectors and enthusiasts, offering "private garage condos" to customers and hosting a number of car events and gatherings throughout the year.

Tributes have been flooding social media for Berger, including from his brother Scott on Facebook .

"From talking to just a small sampling of his many loyal friends in the last couple of days — and from my own experience with him as my best friend — I can say that Erik lived more life, a richer life, and accomplished more in 33 short years than many of us could hope to do in 103 years," Scott Berger said.

"RIP to the only little brother I'll ever have."

A friend of Berger referred to Erik as "a true OG in the car community and a fearless advocate for cool stuff."

"He was competent, witty, and in his prime. He had many people who loved him dearly and he had a great future ahead of him," he said .

Another friend said time spent with Berger was always "filled with laughter and good times.

"Times I'll never forget, and I'm so broken that you're gone. RIP Erik, I'll never forget you," he said .

The sheriff's office noted the incident was isolated. An investigation remains active.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.