Minnesota shooting suspect charged with murder as complaint details gruesome attack
The suspect in the Tuesday shooting at a Minnesota health clinic that killed one person and wounded four others was charged with murder on Thursday. In a criminal complaint that detailed the gruesome attack, authorities said Gregory Ulrich, 67, also detonated two explosive devices.
Ulrich was charged with second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and one count each of felony use of an explosive device and carrying a pistol without a permit.
According to the criminal complaint, Ulrich entered the clinic just before 11 a.m., pulled out a semi automatic handgun, and began threatening the staff. He then allegedly entered the reception area and shot two victims, before moving to the interior of the clinic and shooting three more.
The first four shooting victims survived. But the final victim, who was hit by a bullet that tore through her liver and spine, later died of her injuries, the complaint said. The victim was later identified by Allina Health as Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant who had worked for Allina Health since November of 2018.
"The victim was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister," Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes said during a morning press conference. "She went to work and she didn't come home due to the senseless gun violence inflicted by Gregory Ulrich."
Ulrich is also accused of detonating two bombs in the building, one near the entrance and a second in the interior of the clinic. Investigators found a third, undetonated explosive near his briefcase that consisted of black powder in a small cylinder, the complaint said.
At 10:58 a.m., Ulrich called 911 and told police that he would surrender, the complaint said. Police said they found him laying facedown in the entryway with his arms out. When he was searched by police, he was allegedly carrying two loaded magazines, ammunition, and two marijuana cigarettes, and a preliminary search of his phone allegedly revealed a "rambling video message that alluded to an incident at the clinic."
"Gregory Ulrich went to Allina clinic knowing that he was going to shoot up that clinic. Gregory Ulrich went to that clinic knowing he that was going explode bombs at the clinic. He did just that, cowardly injuring innocent people, one of them fatally," Lutes said.
Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke previously said he believed Ulrich targeted the facility because he was unhappy with care he'd received.
According to a police report obtained by The Associated Press, Ulrich had previously threatened to carry out a shooting at the facility. The report said Ulrich had discussed "shooting, blowing things up, and practicing different scenarios of how to get revenge" on people who "tortured" him, referring to problems with previous back surgeries and the medications he prescribed, the AP reported.