Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
5 wounded in clinic attack; man arrested
A 67-yearold local man who was wellknown to law enforcement opened fire at a Minnesota health clinic on Tuesday, wounding five people who were rushed to area hospitals, authorities said.
The attack happened Tuesday morning at an Allina clinic in Buffalo, a community of about 15,000 people roughly 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Kelly Spratt, the president of Buffalo Health, said during a news conference that five patients were wounded and were rushed to hospitals, but that he didn’t know any of their conditions.
The alleged shooter was identified as Gregory Paul Ulrich, of Buffalo. Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said Ulrich was wellknown to authorities before the attack.
“We have had several calls for service dating to 2003,” Deringer said.
Public online court records for Ulrich list a handful of arrests and convictions for drunken driving and possession of small amounts of marijuana from 2004 through 2014, mostly in Wright County, including two convictions for gross misdemeanor drunken driving that resulted in short jail sentences.
Police Chief Pat Budke said the attack did not appear to be an instance of domestic terrorism, though he didn’t elaborate.
Gov. Tim Walz said at an earlier news conference that “some improvised explosive devices” were part of the attack, though he didn’t say whether any were detonated.
“At this time it appears it was a single individual,” Walz said. “Again, (it’s) too early to tell motives or reasons why.”
North Memorial Health spokeswoman Abigail Greenheck said multiple victims were brought to its hospital in Robbinsdale. She did not say how many or what condition they were in.
The FBI sent bomb technicians to the scene. Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ enforcement group and special agents from the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also responded.
The clinic is set off at the edge of Buffalo near an old red barn with flaking paint. Dozens of emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers carrying guns were on the scene, setting up a perimeter. TV footage showed little activity at the clinic itself, but several shattered plate-glass windows could be seen. At least two windows were shattered a nearby motel.
A state Department of Public Health spokesman said he didn’t immediately know if the clinic has been administering COVID-19 vaccinations.