MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A man who shot five staff members at a Minnesota health clinic wounded two of them in the reception area before returning to where patients are being treated and shot three others, including a medical assistant who succumbed to her wounds, according to authorities and criminal charges filed Thursday.
Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, also allegedly set fire to three explosive devices during an attack on an Allina clinic in Buffalo, about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis, while other staff barricaded themselves in locker rooms. He is charged with second-degree murder without premeditated counsel, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, possession of an explosive device and carrying a handgun without a permit.
A judge on Thursday ordered Ulrich to hold $ 10 million or $ 5 million bail if he agrees to certain conditions. Ulrich, who attended the video trial from jail, did not speak, except that he told the judge how to pronounce his name and that he had no questions.
‘Gregory Ulrich went to the Allina Clinic knowing he was going to shoot the clinic. Gregory Ulrich went to that clinic when he knew he was going to detonate bombs at the clinic. “He did exactly that and wounded innocent people, one of them fatally,” Brian Lutes, a Wright County attorney, told a news conference.
According to the charges, staff asked Ulrich if they could help him as he entered the clinic, but he pulled out a gun and threatened before shooting one staff member in the back and another in the abdomen. He then entered the clinic and shot a third person twice in the thigh while the person was trying to flee, and a fourth person six times, including in the chest, abdomen and back.
His fifth victim, who succumbed to her wounds, was allegedly shot in the abdomen and the bullet was moved through her liver and spine. According to family and friends, Allina identified herself as Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant who had two young children.
Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said some staff members escaped during the attack and that other people grabbed and locked themselves in offices, so Ulrich ‘may have run out of victims’. It was not clear how many people were in the building during the attack.
Three victims were admitted to hospital on Thursday, one in fair and two in good condition.
‘If you can imagine the health workers in the clinic – doctors and nurses who look after their own staff have been shot. “I can not imagine the heroism shown by the Allina staff that day,” said Deringer.
Ulrich set off three homemade bombs – two in the foyer of the clinic and the other in an adjoining corridor, Deringer said. Authorities also recovered a fourth device that did not explode. When the attack was over, Ulrich called 911 and said he would surrender if officers withdrew, according to the charges. Officers entered the clinic using a group car as a shield and found Ulrich in the entrance hall with his arms outstretched.
He had two loaded 9mm magazines, one with 13 rounds of ammunition and the other with seven. He also had 29 additional ammunition in a plastic bag. Authorities also searched a garage where Ulrich lived and found gunpowder similar to the material used in the bombings.
Ulrich’s cell phone has a tumultuous video he made referring to an incident at the clinic, the charges read. Buffalo police chief Pat Budke said Tuesday that Ulrich had a long history of conflict with medical clinics in the area and that he was unhappy with the care he received.
According to a previous police report, Ulrich threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the clinic on October 13, 2018, with a doctor telling investigators that Ulrich talked about ‘shooting, blowing things up and practicing different scenarios how to get revenge take. The doctor said Ulrich told him he dreamed of taking revenge on the people who “tortured” him, referring to problems he had with back surgery and the medication he was prescribed.
Police took Ulrich for an evaluation of mental health, and Allina took legal action to ban him from the company’s property. A restraining order barred Ulrich from contacting the doctor or going to the clinic and Allina-controlled Buffalo Hospital. The order would expire December 13, 2020.
Deringer said Thursday he did not know if that doctor was at the clinic during the attack.
Ulrich violated the injunction and tried to plead guilty in May 2019, but the court did not approve his plea and ordered an investigation. The court ordered a psychological evaluation in June, but the court documents show that Ulrich did not want to leave his home and claim that he was in too much pain. The charge of violating the restraining order was dismissed on April 15, 2020, when the prosecutor said that Ulrich was “mentally incapable of continuing.”
Lutes said that Ulrich had not dealt with Ulrich since his latest charge of drunk driving, in 2006, and that violating the restriction was an offense that would be dealt with by the city attorney’s office. A call to the city attorney was referred to the city administrator, who did not immediately respond to a message.
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