The man charged with the ambush at a Buffalo, Minn., health clinic that left one staff member dead and four others wounded will be evaluated to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.
Gregory P. Ulrich, 67, was ordered Monday to be confined to the state security hospital in St. Peter and examined before his next appearance on May 20 in Wright County District Court.
Ulrich, who lives in Buffalo, is charged with second-degree intentional murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, possession of an explosive or incendiary device and carrying a pistol without a permit in connection with the one-man assault at Allina Health Clinic on Feb. 9.
He set off three of the explosive devices — two in the lobby, a third in an adjacent workstation — in about six minutes between the time he entered the building and surrendered to the officers arriving in the parking lot, according to the criminal complaint.
Court records portray the man as a scofflaw with mental health and substance abuse problems who frequently called police to report unfounded thefts or minor quarrels with his neighbors, medical aides, tenants — anyone who entered his world.
He made no attempt to hide his violent ideations toward medical practitioners he believed wronged him, according to the records.
Also, an ex-roommate told the Star Tribune, Ulrich was an addict and mad because a doctor refused to give him enough painkiller.
In her order, Judge Catherine McPherson wrote that "there is reason to doubt [Ulrich's] competency to proceed" based on information provided by his defense attorney and "the court's observations of the defendant."
The purpose of having Ulrich examined is to conclude whether he has the mental capabilities to participate in his own defense.
If he's deemed incompetent, then a treatment regimen will need to be identified with the goal of helping Ulrich "attain or maintain competence" in order for the case to proceed, the judge's order read.
Any incompetency finding also must specify whether it is due to mental illness, chemical dependency, some other psychological malady or any combination.
Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant at the clinic, was fatally shot in the assault.
The other staff members wounded were Tammy Schaufler, Sherry Curtis, Antonya Fransen-Pruden and Jennifer Gibson.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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