Authorities said on July 27 that they will seek to press charges for terrorism and assault against the suspect in a serial knife attack at a Walmart in Traverse City, Michigan, where he allegedly wounded nearly a dozen people, some seriously.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said at a press conference that the motive behind the knife attack—allegedly carried out by 42-year-old suspect Bradford Gille on July 26—remains unclear. The attack, carried out with a three-and-a-half-inch knife, wounded 11 people, six of whom were left in critical condition.
Shea said the 11 victims included men and women, ranging in age from 29 to 84. One was a Walmart employee. The victims of the stabbing, which began at the checkout counter inside the store and continued into the parking lot, were apparently “not predetermined,” Shea said.
Gille will face one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with the intent to murder, Shea said.
Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Schermerhorn said at the press conference that all the victims are expected to survive.
He said one has been treated and released, two are in serious condition, and the rest are in fair condition.
According to Shea, the suspect, who is from Afton, Michigan, had “prior assaultive incidents as well as controlled substance violations” and was largely silent while being arrested.
Law enforcement officers were on-scene within three minutes of being informed of the stabbing. Bystanders had stepped in to detain Gille in the parking lot before police arrived. Shea praised the “remarkable” response, saying the quick arrival of law enforcement and civilian action in the case likely prevented others from being harmed.
Steven Carter, a delivery driver who was at Walmart during the attack, said he was loading his vehicle when he saw a man stab a woman in the throat.
Within five minutes, Carter said, several customers had surrounded the man, yelling for him to “drop the knife.”
“I don’t care, I don’t care,” the man said, attempting to back away from the crowd before he was tackled and subdued.
“At first, it was disbelief. I thought maybe it was like a terror attack,” Carter said. “And then it was fear, disbelief, shock. ... It was just amazing. And it all happened fast. He was totally subdued on the ground by the time police arrived.”
Gille first entered the store in Traverse City at 4:10 p.m. local time on July 26 but did not immediately carry out the attack. Police began to receive calls about the attack at 4:43 p.m., and officers were on-scene by 4:46 p.m.
“I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough,” Shea said. “When you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody, the individual was detained within one minute.”
With Gille in custody, prosecutors are making the case for charging him with terrorism.
“It’s something that is done not to individual people, not to those individual victims—obviously they are most affected—but it is, we believe in some ways, done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis,” Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg said. “So that is why we are looking at that terrorism charge.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a social media post that the agency would “provide any necessary support.”
The Epoch Times requested comment from a number of the suspect’s associates but received no reply. The suspect does not currently have a publicly listed attorney.
