MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A man who shot five staff members at a Minnesota health clinic injured two in the reception area before returning to where patients are being treated and three more people were shot, including an assistant doctor who died from his injuries, according to authorities and criminal charges filed Thursday.
Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, also allegedly fired three explosive devices during Tuesday’s attack on an Allina clinic in Buffalo, about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis, while other staff barricaded themselves inside rooms. closed. He is charged with two counts of premeditated murder, four counts of attempted premeditated homicide, possession of an explosive device and carrying a pistol without permission.
A judge on Thursday ordered Ulrich bail of $ 10 million, or $ 5 million if he accepted certain conditions. Ulrich, who attended the video hearing from prison, did not speak unless he told the judge how to pronounce his name and said he had no questions.
“Gregory Ulrich went to the Allina clinic knowing that he was going to shoot this clinic. Gregory Ulrich went to this clinic knowing he was going to detonate bombs at the clinic. He did exactly that, cowardly injuring innocent people, one of them deadly, “Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes said during a news conference.
According to the allegations, the staff asked Ulrich if they could help him when he entered the clinic, but he pulled out a gun and threatened them before shooting one staff member in the back and another in the abdomen. He then went inside the clinic and shot a third person twice in the upper leg as that person tried to flee and a fourth person six times, including in the chest, abdomen and back. .
His fifth victim, who died from his injuries, was shot in the abdomen and the bullet passed through his liver and spine, according to the allegations. Allina identified her as Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant who had two young children, according to family and friends.
Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said some staff members escaped during the attack and others grabbed people and locked themselves inside offices, so Ulrich “may have been left without casualties.” . It was unclear how many people were inside the building during the attack.
Three victims remained hospitalized on Thursday, one in good condition and two in good condition.
“If you could imagine the health workers at this clinic: doctors and nurses caring for their own co-workers after they were shot. … I can’t imagine the heroism that Allina’s staff showed that day.” , said Deringer.
Ulrich fired three homemade bombs: two in the clinic lobby and the other in an adjacent hallway, Deringer said. Authorities also recovered a fourth device that did not explode. When the attack ended, Ulrich called 911 and said he would surrender if officers retreated, according to the charges. Officers entered the clinic using a team car as a shield and found Ulrich lying at the entrance with his arms outstretched.
It had two 9mm magazines loaded, one with 13 rounds of ammunition and the other with seven. He also had 29 extra rounds of ammunition in a plastic bag. Authorities also searched a mobile home where Ulrich lived and found gunpowder similar to the material used in the bombs.
Ulrich’s cell phone had an informative video that had made it allude to an incident at the clinic, according to the charges. Buffalo police chief Pat Budke said Tuesday that Ulrich had a long history of conflicts with medical clinics in the area and was not satisfied with the care he had received.
According to a previous police report, Ulrich threatened a mass shooting at the clinic on October 13, 2018, with a doctor telling investigators that Ulrich had talked about “shooting, exploding things and practicing different scenarios on how to get revenge. “. The doctor said Ulrich told him that he dreamed of taking revenge on the people who “tortured” him, referring to problems he had with back surgeries and the medication they prescribed.
Police arrested Ulrich for a mental health assessment and Allina took legal action to ban him from owning the company. A restraining order forbade Ulrich from having contact with the doctor or entering the clinic and the nearby Buffalo Hospital, run by Allina. The order would expire on December 13, 2020.
Deringer said Thursday he did not know if that doctor was at the clinic during Tuesday’s attack.
Ulrich violated the restraining order and tried to plead guilty in May 2019, but the court did not approve his request and ordered an investigation. The court ordered a psychological evaluation that June, but court records show Ulrich was unwilling to leave his home, alleging he was in too much pain. The charge of violating the restraining order was dismissed on April 15, 2020, when the prosecutor said Ulrich was “mentally incompetent to proceed.”
Lutes said his office had not dealt with Ulrich since his last drunk driving charge in 2006, and that violating the restraining order was a felony that would have been handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. city. A call was derived from the city attorney to the city administrator, who did not immediately respond to any messages.
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