ONE of five people shot at a health clinic in Minnesota on Tuesday has died – with officials saying the alleged gunman is violently anti-government and may have also planted bombs in the targeted attack.
Gregory Paul Ulrich, 67, of Buffalo, has been identified as the alleged shooter in the attack on the Allina Health in Minnesota.
Authorities say Ulrich was “unhappy” with the care he received and opened fire at the Allina Health clinic just before 11am Tuesday morning.
Hennepin County Medical Center spokeswoman Christine Hill said that one person rushed to the hospital died Tuesday night.
Three of the four injured victims are in critical but stable condition. The remaining victim has been discharged.
Ulrich is currently being held in the Wright County Jail.
Authorities said they were “very familiar” with Ulrich and his previous run-ins with the law in Buffalo, a town of around 15,000 people about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
“He is no stranger to law enforcement,” Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said of the suspect, in an afternoon press conference.
“We’ve had several calls for service regarding Gregory Ulrich dating back to 2003.
“The history we have – this incident was targeted at someone – within that facility,” Deringer added. “He had a history of conflict.”
Although it was too early to tell if he was targeting someone specific in the clinic, court records indicate he had been ordered to have no contact with someone whose name matches that of a doctor there.
Deringer said that when his deputies responded to the clinic, “It was a horrible-looking scene.”
Also speaking at the conference, Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke fought back tears as he gave more details about the shooting and how first responders rushed to the scene.
“Those officers immediately then began to render aid to the injured,” Budke said.
Budke said Ulrich has had contact with the health care community in Buffalo and has lived there for a long time.
“It’s a history that spans several years and there certainly is a history of him being unhappy with the health care that he received,” Budke said.
Authorities did not elaborate further on a possible motive, citing an ongoing investigation, but police described Ulrich as having “disturbed with anti-government sentiments,” according to KMSP-TV.
The gunman opened fire on staff and patients at the Allina Clinic, before a bomb went off almost 30 minutes later, authorites said.
Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz confirmed “improvised explosive devices” were involved in the attack at the Allina Clinic on Tuesday.
As officials believe Ulrich may have been the only suspect, they say there is no active threat to the public and the incident was not believed to be terrorism-related.
In a statement from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, they confirmed schools in the area had been placed on a temporary lockdown as a precaution.
Dispatch audio reportedly heard by The Star Tribune reveals that one female victim was flown to hospital by air ambulance after sustaining three gunshot wounds.
The State Patrol said pilots are flying six boxes of blood from the Red Cross for the victims to The Buffalo Hospital.
The Sheriff also confirmed reports of a bomb threat at the Super 8 Motel, where Ulrich had been staying just a mile away from the Allina clinic.
“We did find additional suspicious devices at the hotel,” he said this afternoon.
“We cleared the area. We have search warrants in hand. We do believe Mr Ulrich acted alone.”
Police, ambulance, and fire crews reportedly turned up at the establishment shortly after the original incident.
FBI spokesman Kevin Smith said the agency’s bomb technicians were on their way to the scene, earlier today.
Aerial video of the scene from KARE shows that several of the clinic’s front windows are shattered.
Cops told The Sun that they received a call just before 11am of a “gun incident” at the scene. One official described it as a “disaster,” the local Fox news station reported.
Initial reports from dispatch suggest multiple calls were made to 911, regarding an “older white male” inside the clinic with a handgun, according to The Star Tribune.
Allina Health confirmed to a local CBS affiliate that there was an active shooter inside of the facility at 11.30am.
About 30 minutes later, a bomb exploded in the clinic, the outlet reported, citing emergency dispatch audio, forcing emergency medical workers to leave the clinic’s parking lot and set up from a safer distance.
Photos shared on social media showed a heavy police presence at the scene, including a helicopter and multiple firetrucks. Authorities temporarily imposed a flight ban over the area as they investigated additional threats.
The clinic could not immediately be reached for comment by The Sun.
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A North Memorial Health spokeswoman, Abigail Greenheck, said multiple victims were brought to its hospital in Robbinsdale.
The FBI is responding to the scene as well as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, St Paul division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and other law enforcement agencies from across the Twin Cities metro.
Ulrich is expected to appear in court on Thursday.