Police: Multiple people shot at Minnesota clinic; 1 detained

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — Multiple people were shot at a Minnesota health clinic on Tuesday and someone was taken into custody afterward, police said.

The shooting happened at an Allina clinic in Buffalo, a city of about 15,000 people roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis, Kelly Prestidge, an office manager for the Buffalo Police Department, told The Associated Press.

Prestidge said one person was taken into custody, but that she didn’t know if it was the shooter. She also said she didn’t have further information on the attack, including how many people were shot or if anyone was killed.

Police Chief Pat Budke told TV station KSTP that the shooting happened inside the Allina Clinic Crossroads campus. He said the situation was contained shortly before noon and that there was no further threat to the public’s safety.

North Memorial Health spokeswoman Abigail Greenheck said multiple victims were brought to its hospital in Robbinsdale. She did not say how many or what condition they were in. Allina Health spokesman Timothy Burke declined to say if any victims were brought to its Buffalo hospital.

FBI spokesman Kevin Smith said the agency’s bomb technicians were on their way to the scene, but he couldn’t confirm media reports about a possible bomb or explosion at the clinic.

Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ enforcement group and special agents from the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were also headed to the scene, spokespeople for the agencies said.

TV helicopter news footage nearly two hours after the attack showed no activity at the clinic, but at least three shattered plate-glass windows could be seen on the clinic’s exterior.

The Midwest Medical Examiners Office, which handles cases in Wright County, had no comment on whether it had sent anyone to the scene.

A state Department of Public Health spokesman said he didn’t immediately know if the clinic has been administering COVID-19 vaccinations. An Allina spokesman referred all questions to the Buffalo police and the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.