One person was killed and four others were wounded when a gunman opened fire in an Allina Health family medicine and urgent care clinic in Minnesota on Tuesday morning.
In a press conference, police officials said they received calls for help shortly before 11 a.m. from someone at the clinic saying shots had been fired. When they arrived, they found five people had been injured.
The alleged shooter was identified as a 67-year-old Buffalo man named Gregory Ulrich.
Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke said police were "very familiar" with the suspect with calls to police dating back to 2003. He said he did not believe there was a connection with domestic terrorism, but that the incident was likely "targeted at that facility or someone within that facility."
“There's certainly a history of him being unhappy with the healthcare that he received," Budke said. "There's also, within that history, nothing to indicate that we would've been in the situation we’re in today.”
Allina Health is a healthcare system with 11 hospitals, more than 90 clinics, and 15 retail pharmacies in addition to specialty care centers, specialty medical services and home care offerings. The company's website shows the clinic is a COVID-19 testing center.
Speaking during the press conference, Allina Health's Buffalo Hospital President Kelly Spratt declined to say whether the injured were healthcare staff or patients at the clinic because there is an open investigation. He also said he did not know their conditions.
He said five patients were transported from the clinic, with four of them taken to North Memorial Health Hospital, a level one trauma center.
"Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them and their families and to our staff across the Allina Health system," Spratt said.
While previous news reports indicated a bomb may have gone off in the clinic, police officials told reporters that was not true. They said police did find a suspicious package in the clinic and were still investigating its contents as of 3 p.m. Central. Officials said Ulrich was staying at the Super 8 Motel in Buffalo and also evacuated that building to conduct an investigation.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect new information from police and health system officials.