TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Authorities in northern Michigan will seek terrorism and assault with intent to murder charges against a man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart on Saturday.
During a news conference on Sunday, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea identified the suspect as Bradford James Gille, 42, of Afton, a small, unincorporated community in Cheboygan County.
Gille was apprehended in the parking lot of the store in Traverse City after bystanders cornered the suspect.
“I will tell you they were absolutely instrumental in preventing further injuries, potential casualties,” Shea told reporters.
Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg said her office intends to pursue charges of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder against Gille.
The attacks occurred at about 4:43 p.m. ET. The victims range in age from 29 to 84. Six men and five women were injured.
“Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more,” Shea told reporters.
This type of “random act of violence” against so many people justifies the terrorism charge, Moeggenberg said. If Gille is convicted, he could face a life sentence in prison.
“It is, we believe, in some ways, done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community, and to change how we operate on a daily basis,” she added. “And so that is why we’re looking at that terrorism charge.”
Shea said Gillie entered the store at about 4:10 p.m. ET. Authorities received multiple calls at 4:43 about a man stabbing people with a 3 1/2-inch folding knife.
The man barreled past someone else nearby and “angled toward me,” Julia Martell, 32, told NBC News. “And that’s when I booked it down the aisle.”
Police said they believed the victims were chosen at random.
A deputy arrived at the store three minutes after emergency calls were received, Shea said. Several people in the parking lot, including one with a pistol, were discovered confronting a man, later identified as Gille.
They were demanding that he drop the knife and prevented him from harming others or leaving, Shea said.
A video on social media posted by WZZM-TV showed the incident, but Shea did not confirm the names of the people who stopped the suspect.
“If they choose to make a public statement, they will,” the sheriff said. “But I would ask that we all just give them a little space and say, ‘Attaboy!’ Right?
Deputies arrested Gille without incident and he was booked into the Grand Traverse County Jail.
Gille has a criminal history that includes prior “assaultive incident” and drug violations, the sheriff said, declining to comment on his mental health history.
All of the stabbing victims are expected to survive, Chief Medical Officer Thomas C. Schermerhorn said Sunday.
Six of the victims had been listed in critical condition on Saturday, with five in serious condition.
As of Sunday afternoon, one victim’s condition was upgraded and that person was released. Eight victims are in fair condition and two remain in serious condition, Munson Healthcare spokesperson Catherine Dewey said.
One of the victims was a Walmart employee.
Tiffany DeFell, 36, said she was in the store’s parking lot when she saw the commotion as the suspect was confronted.
“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies. It’s not what you expect to see where you’re living.”
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