Buffalo, Minnesota clinic attack

Buffalo is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, with approximately 16,000 residents by 2021. It is within the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan region and located about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. == Events ==

Attack The morning of February 9, 2021, Gregory Paul Ulrich, wearing a large jacket and carrying a brief case, boarded a public shuttle bus at the Super 8 motel in Buffalo, Minnesota. At 10:52 a.m., Ulrich was dropped off at the nearby Allina Health medical clinic on Crossroads Drive. A clinic staff member, Tamara "Tammy" Schaufler, greeted the gunman at his arrival and asked Ulrich if he needed help. The gunman allegedly, immediately pulled out a handgun and made threats at clinic staff. After he entered a reception area, he fired his gun, first striking two victims, Schaufler and Antonya Fransen-Pruden. The gunman then fired at the windows in the lobby, shattering the glass. He proceeded further into the interior of the clinic, and hit two more victims with multiple gun shots. The gunman then fired his gun at a fifth victimlater identified as Lindsay Overbay, who died from gunshot woundshitting her in the abdomen. By 10:54 a.m. the first 9-1-1 call reported an active shooting at the clinic. The gunman discharged two improvised explosive devices inside the clinic, one at the entrance and another near a desk. He also had a third device with him, but it did not detonate. Though the bombs did not injure any people, they caused significant damage to the sliding door entrance to the building, shattering several exterior windows, and to the interior area near the desk. Emergency response Buffalo and Wright County police were dispatched to the Buffalo Crossroads clinic at 10:54 a.m. based on reports of multiple shots being fired. When authorities arrived, several victims had already been injured and several windows had been broken at the front of the building. At approximately 11:00 a.m., the gunman had surrendered to police that had arrived at the parking lot of the building. Immediate aftermath Five people were shot at the clinic, one of whom died, and three others had critical injuries. The victims were transported by AllinaHealth ambulances to area hospitals. died after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, the major trauma center in downtown Minneapolis. As he was arrested, the suspect, Ulrich, was found with a Smith & Wesson SD9VE 9mm handgun, two loaded magazines with 20 rounds each, and a bag with 29 additional rounds. Authorities also recovered his cellphone with a video message where he allegedly alluded to an incident at the clinic, according to court documents later filed charging Ulrich for several crimes. Police recovered other suspicious devices at the nearby Super 8 motel that Ulrich was staying at prior to the attack. == Perpetrator ==

Gregory Paul Ulrich (born July 19, 1953) a local citizen, was identified as the sole suspect in the attack. By February 9, 2021, he was 67 years old and had a listed address of Buffalo, Minnesota, where he had been a longtime resident. The Buffalo Police Department and Wright County Sheriff's Office were "very familiar" with Ulrich from prior interactions. Ulrich had a history of mental health and substance abuse problems. He was known to frequently call the police to make unfounded theft reports or address interpersonal quarrels with people he interacted with. Ulrich threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the Buffalo Crossroads medical clinic in October 2018. In a police report filed then, a doctor told investigators that Ulrich had talked about "shooting, blowing things up, and practicing different scenarios of getting revenge". The criminal case against Ulrich was eventually dismissed as prosecutors said he was "mental incompetent" to stand trial. In June 2019, a court services agent wrote that he had just learned that Ulrich had applied for a "permit to purchase" a gun and had yet to be approved. The agent said that he "highly recommended" that Ulrich not be allowed to acquire a firearm as a condition of his probation for previous criminal offenses. In the days leading up to February 9, 2021, Ulrich had been staying at a Super 8 motel near the Buffalo Crossroads medical campus. == Investigation ==

Local police believed that Ulrich acted alone and that he did not commit the shooting as an act of terrorism. According to the court documents filed by prosecutors, an investigator believed Ulrich had an addiction to opioid medication, and that it might have been a motivating factor for the attack. In particular, news media questioned the Buffalo police department about why it issued a gun permit to Ulrich, which it declined to answer. The sheriff for Wright County, the local jurisdiction that included Buffalo, explained to media that gun permit applications were complicated to review and that sometimes disqualifiers for gun permits are missed by reviews. == Legal proceedings ==

Ulrich initially faced several charges in connection to the attack: second-degree intentional murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, procession of explosive devices, and carrying a pistol without a permit. At the request of his defense attorney, the judge overseeing the case ordered Ulrich to undergo an evaluation to determine if he was mentally competent for trial. and ruled that Ulrich was competent to stand trial. Charges for Ulrich were later upgraded in late 2021 to first-degree premeditated murder for the death of Lindsay Overbay. He also faced four counts of first-degree attempted premeditated murder and discharge of an explosive or incendiary device. Bail was set at $5 million with the restrictive condition that Ulrich wear a GPS tracking monitor. During the trial, witnesses and victims testified about the attack. Ulrich took the stand in his own defense. He admitted to carrying out the attack and said it was in retribution for clinic staff failing to prescribe pain medications. Ulrich claimed he intended to cause injury and property damage, but not kill anyone. Prosecutors argued Ulrich intended to kill clinic staff and provided evidence of a video Ulrich made six weeks prior to the attack when he said that he would "kill as many nurses" as he could. After the trial concluded, the jury deliberated for six hours and on June 2, 2022, they convicted Ulrich on all charges. Ulrich is currently incarcerated at the Rush City Correctional Facility. == Aftermath ==

In mid 2021, a sunflower field was planted near the clinic as a memorial to Lindsay Overbay. The clinic reopened to patients on September 27, 2021. == See also ==