TRAVERSE CITY, MI— All 11 of the people stabbed at a Traverse City Walmart over the weekend are expected to survive.
The suspect, 42-year-old Bradford James Gille, of Afton, is expected to face arraignment in the next couple days on charges including terrorism, following what authorities describe as a random attack inside the Walmart Supercenter on South Airport Road.
What happened
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office said that at 4:43 p.m. Saturday, a man used a folding knife to stab 11 people, starting inside the store and also stabbing two people in the vestibule and one just outside.
Deputies arrived on scene within three minutes, by which time multiple bystanders, including one armed with a pistol, had already confronted the suspect in the store’s parking lot.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea praised their work in preventing further harm, but stopped short of identifying any of them.
“If they choose to make a public statement, they will,” he said, “but I would ask that we all just give them a little space and say attaboy, right?”
Word of the incident quickly spread across social media, with responders asking the public to stay clear of the area. Nearby stores went on lockdown. Walmart employees were interviewed by investigators and authorities began processing the scene.
Munson Medical Center said patients began arriving at 5:01 p.m., in critical and serious condition.
The victims
Those who were attacked ranged in age from 29 to 84. One is a Walmart employee.
As of Sunday, one person had been treated and released from Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. Eight were in fair condition and two remained in serious condition — an improvement from the night before.
All are expected to survive, said Dr. Thomas Schermerhorn, the hospital’s chief medical officer.
Still, the impact of Saturday’s seemingly random attack went beyond those at the scene. Social media lit up with concern as people checked on loved ones, marked themselves as “safe” and speculated about what was going on.
Counselors will be on hand for members of the community needing to talk from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at Northwestern Michigan College’s Innovation Center.
The suspect
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s office is holding 42-year-old Bradford James Gille, of Afton. He’s expected to face one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder.
The terrorism charge could come with a life sentence, said Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg.
She told reporters that attacks like this are “done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community and to change how we operate on a daily basis, and so that is why we’re looking at that terrorism charge.”
Shea, the Grand Traverse sheriff, said authorities had not yet ascertained a motive, but that Gille had a history of “prior assaultive incidents” and controlled substance violations.
Shea said Gille entered Walmart at 4:10 p.m., more than 30 minutes before the incident occurred.
The Grand Traverse County Prosecutor’s Office is expected to authorize the requested charges on Monday, with arraignment no later than Tuesday.
Officials praised the swift response from bystanders and multiple agencies including Traverse City police, sheriff’s departments from surrounding counties, the state police and the FBI.
“The individual was detained within one minute,” Shea said. “That was remarkable, when you look at it. That mitigated lord knows how many additional victims.”