The man charged with wounding 11 people in a mass stabbing attack at a Traverse City, Michigan, Walmart, on Saturday afternoon was identified by authorities as 42-year-old Bradford James Gille.
Gille, a resident of Afton, Michigan — which is around 90 miles northeast of Traverse City — was charged with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder, Up North Live reported. During a press conference on Sunday, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Mike Shea said that Gille has a history of assault incidents and controlled substance violations.
42-year-old Bradford James Gille has been charged with terrorism following Walmart mass-stabbing in Traverse City. pic.twitter.com/FUj60xl3bl
— Senator Aric Nesbitt (@SenAricNesbitt) July 27, 2025
The sheriff said that bystanders who stepped in to stop the attack “were absolutely instrumental in preventing further injuries [or] potential casualties.” Video posted by Up North Live showed a group of bystanders gathered around the suspect in the parking lot after the attack, with one man holding a gun up to the suspect, yelling at him to “drop the knife.”
According to some reports, the good guy with the gun was identified as Derick Perry, who witnesses saw charging after the attacker and holding him until law enforcement arrived just a few minutes later.
🚨Hero Alert🚨 Derrick Perry and many others yet to be named answered the bell when called upon while shopping at TC Walmart. We’re offering these heroes free Iron Pig for life. These folks were the real first responders the other day. Amazing courage, and outstanding restraint.… pic.twitter.com/eeh1IEqEvu
— Iron Pig Smokehouse (@ironpigsmoke) July 27, 2025
Another man, 39-year-old Matt Kolakowski, told CNN that he was with his brother and 13-year-old daughter at Walmart when the attacker started his rampage. Kolakowski, a Marine, said his instincts kicked in and he jumped into action.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, I don’t got no weapon, so what am I going to do?’ So, I just grabbed an empty grocery cart and just took off after him as hard as I could,” he said.
Kolakowski said he saw the attacker stab one man in the shoulder and a woman in the back as they were running from the store.
“He was screaming something about him being a soldier, and that everybody in Walmart were bad people,” Kolakowski said of the suspect. “His eyes were just bulging out of his head.”
Sheriff Shea said that Gille used a 3.5-inch “folding knife,” stabbing people near the checkout line at random. Only the ages and sexes of the victims have been released. Six men and five women were wounded in the attack, with the oldest victim being an 84-year-old woman and the youngest being a 29-year-old woman. One of the victims was a Walmart employee.
Four of the victims remain in serious condition and seven are in fair condition, Munson Healthcare said on Sunday, according to The Detroit Free Press. The Sunday update from the hospital is a positive development after six victims were described as being in critical condition and five were in serious condition after the attack.
