Man accused of Minnesota health clinic shooting appears in court

Gregory Ulrich is facing seven charges, including one for second-degree murder.

February 12, 2021, 12:05 AM

Gregory Ulrich, the man accused of the shooting rampage that killed one person and seriously injured four at the Allina Medical Clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota, made his first court appearance Thursday.

Seven charges against Ulrich were formally presented, including one charge for second-degree murder with intent, four charges of first-degree attempted murder, one charge relating to the use of an explosive or incendiary device and one for possessing a pistol without a permit. The charges are listed in a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors Thursday morning.

A sheriff's vehicle sits outside the Super 8 Motel where alleged suspect Gregory Ulrich apparently stayed the night before a shooting at the nearby Allina Health Clinic on Feb. 9, 2021 in Buffalo, Minn.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The hearing was held remotely in the Wright County District Court with Ulrich appearing by video from the nearby jail.

According to the criminal complaint, the gunman allegedly walked into the clinic Tuesday morning and started firing, hitting five victims in minutes. Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant and mother of two young children, died from gunshot wounds, and four others were hospitalized.

Lindsay Overbay, 37, pictured in an undated handout photo, was killed on Feb. 9, 2021, in a shooting that took place at the Allina health clinic in Buffalo, Minn.
Courtesy Wilfahrt family

The suspect also allegedly detonated two improvised explosive devices that caused significant damage at the clinic. An unexploded one was later found there by law enforcement bomb technicians.

The complaint also stated Ulrich's cell phone contained a "rambling video message that alluded to an incident at the clinic."

During a news conference after Thursday's hearing, County Attorney Brian Lutes said that Overbay "was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister. She went to work and didn't come home."

According to the complaint, the suspect was allegedly carrying extra ammunition, including two loaded magazines for his pistol.

Police investigate a shooting in which at least five people were shot at a Allina Health clinic in Buffalo, Minn., Feb. 9, 2021.
Craig Lassig/EPA via Shutterstock

Asked at the press conference how more people weren't shot, Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said, "The staff that were left in the building did an excellent job of barricading themselves in locked and closed offices." The shooter, Deringer suggested, "may have run out of victims."

Ulrich's bail was set at $10 million without conditions or at $5 million if he were to accept a list of restrictions. The next hearing is set for March 22.