POLICE CHIEF IN BUFFALO SHARES DETAILS OF THE TRAGIC SHOOTING AND HOW THE COMMUNITY IS COPING.
Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke was on the phone when he heard the call of shots fired inside the Allina Health clinic last week, "I had a moment of disbelief really. Did I hear what I thought I heard?", he said.
Officers started running down the hallway to respond the shooting, which was a chaotic scene, as they didn't know if there was an active shooting situation underway.
On the way to the clinic, Budke heard information from dispatch saying that the suspect was ready to give himself.
"I said a prayer of thanks. I knew that this was really bad, but I had been mentally preparing for like a hostage situation or further catastrophes and I knew we could deal with it."
Once he arrived at the clinic, he made a conscious choice to not go inside. He said his training informed his decision. As the chief of police, he said he knew he would have to be prepared to answer questions and give direction and needed keep his distance.
He admits he has some guilt about that.
"Maybe I could have prevented one of my guys from having gone through that, but looking back, it was the right thing and it was what I had to do."
The alleged shooter, 67 year old Gregory Ulrich was known to police, and had a restraining order against him in 2018 after he threatened someone in the medical community. Ulrich was given a permit to carry a gun. A permit issued by the Buffalo Police Department.
"There are so many times when I have asked myself what if, and it wouldn't be just involving a permit it would be more you know, was there something that we missed? I follow the law, and I will continue to follow the law. I guess I'm not going to comment on the permit anymore than that."
He knows going forward the city is forever changed.
"It's not going to be the same, I know that. So it's healthy for me to think about that and then think about how to help people figure out what to do next," Budke said.
"The biggest concern I have or, or the thing that I think about the most is, you know, again, first of all our our team here at the PD but then the community as a whole and to restore our sense of security.
In a heartwarming message to the community, the chief posted a video on the community's "Buffalo Strong" site, he encouraged everyone to lean on one another.
"I wish the events of Tuesday would never have happened, but it did happen and we need to figure out how to move on, and pull together and take care of each other."
"I followed the law, I will continue to follow the law, and that's all I am going to say about the permit."
