Crime, Law and Justice

Suspect in clinic shootings ruled competent to stand trial

Attorneys for a man charged in the fatal shooting of a staff member and wounding of four others at a health clinic near Minneapolis said Wednesday they will not fight a court exam that found their client mentally competent to stand trial.

Gregory Paul Ulrich
Gregory Paul Ulrich
Wright County Sheriff's Office via AP

Gregory P. Ulrich, 68, appeared in Wright County District Court and withdrew his objection to the competency evaluation report filed in May. The judge then ruled Ulrich competent to stand trial on murder and other charges in the shootings.

Ulrich is accused of walking into the Allina Health Clinic in Buffalo, a small city about 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis, on Feb. 9 and opening fire, killing 37-year-old medical assistant Lindsay Overbay and wounding four other staff members. He is also accused of setting off several pipe bombs at the clinic. Ulrich eventually surrendered to law enforcement.

Court records allege Ulrich has mental health and substance abuse problems, and that he frequently reported unfounded thefts or minor quarrels involving his neighbors and others. Police have said Ulrich was no stranger to them and was known to have been angry over his medical treatment.