Minnesota clinic shooting suspect identified as Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67; had history with facility, police say

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Multiple people were injured Tuesday in a shooting at a health care clinic about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis, authorities said. 

The Buffalo Police Department confirmed to Fox News that the shooting happened at an Allina Health Clinic in the city. There were at least five victims, authorities said, but police did not immediately confirm their conditions and the extent of their injuries.

Four victims were treated at North Memorial Health, where at least one has since been discharged, the hospital said in a statement early Tuesday evening. Three remained in critical but stable condition.

A spokesperson for nearby Hennepin Healthcare told Minneapolis-based FOX 9 that a fifth victim, taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, has died from their injuries.

Minneapolis-based KARE 11 reported that a victim was a nurse.

Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer identified the suspect as 67-year-old Gregory Paul Ulrich, a Buffalo resident who had been known to investigators since 2003 after a number of unspecified calls.

(Wright County Jail)

"It was a terrible scene," Deringer said. Deputies from his office had joined Buffalo police in the initial response to shots fired.

Investigators found a "suspicious package" at the scene and several more at a nearby Super 8 Motel where Ulrich was staying, Deringer said. The Minneapolis Police Department sent members of its bomb squad to help the investigation.

Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke said officers found multiple victims at the scene, rendered aid and took Ulrich into custody. The victims were taken to multiple locations for treatment.

"There is no information at this point that leads us to believe that there is any nexus with any type of domestic terrorism," Budke said, visibly struggling to keep his composure and pausing multiple times to find words.

"We are very familiar with the suspect," he said during the Tuesday afternoon news conference, adding investigators believed that the attack was targeted due in part to a history of conflict Ulrich had with the facility.

He added that Ulrich may have taken issue with care he either sought or received at the clinic, but authorities were not aware of him making threats before the shootings.

"The history that we have as a department with this individual makes it most likely that…this incident was targeted at that facility or at someone within that facility," Budke said.

In 2018, a judge had ordered Ulrich to stay away from a man who had the same name as a doctor who worked at the clinic. It was not immediately clear whether that doctor was among the victims.

Despite the order of protection, Ulrich allegedly tried to obtain a handgun permit in 2019. A court agent said in court filings that he "highly recommended" that not be allowed.

Ulrich had a history of drunken driving and marijuana convictions dating back to 2004. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaking at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, thanked local police and sheriff’s deputies for their response.

"At this time it appears like it was a single individual," he said, noting that federal agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may get involved due to reports of improvised explosive devices being involved.

A nearby middle school was locked down as a safety precaution, and authorities had not yet determined a motive. Walz said city officials were expected to give another update soon.

The health clinic in Buffalo, Minn., where the shooting is reported to have occurred. (KMSP)

The shooting happened just minutes before 11 a.m., according to Budke.

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The clinic, on its website, says it offers family medicine and urgent care, amongst other services. There was no immediate information on how many were inside the clinic at the time of the shooting. According to the website, the facility also provided COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, but it was not immediately clear if those occurred at the same location.

Aerial footage of the scene captured the station showed a heavy police presence and shattered windows at the facility.

One witness, identified only by her first name, Tiffany, told FOX 9 that as she had pulled up to the clinic to drop her mother off, two nurses came running out and jumped into her vehicle.

"[They] said they heard about 11 shots within a minute and didn’t see the shooter but assumed that’s what it was. Two minutes later, we saw the front windows shot out and left the scene," she told the station. "I took them to the other clinic so they could let them know what had happened."

In their panic, the nurses had fled without their cellphones, she said. She called 911 and let the pair use her phone to contact their families.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.