Jacob Carah
| Special to The Detroit News
Traverse City — Grand Traverse County officials say they don’t know what exactly motivated a 42-year-old man to allegedly stab 11 people at the local Walmart on Saturday afternoon before he was stopped by other shoppers.
The suspect was identified on Sunday as Bradford James Gille of Cheboygan County, a diagnosed schizophrenic.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg said her office would seek a charge of terrorism against Gille, as well as 11 counts of assault with intent to murder.
Moeggenberg called the mass stabbing at the Walmart in Garfield Township “a very random act of violence” that “we believe, in some in some ways, (was) done to affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community, and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis.”
“So that is why we’re looking at that terrorist charge,” the prosecutor said.
Gille was being held Sunday at the Grand Traverse County jail and is expected to be arraigned Monday or Tuesday, Moeggenberg said.
The condition of the 11 victims, meanwhile, had improved as of Sunday afternoon. Two patients remained in serious condition at Munson Medical Center. Eight were in fair condition. One was treated and released.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea said the suspect was a resident of Afton, an unincorporated community in Cheboygan County, and had traveled to the Traverse City area on Saturday. The suspect used a folding knife with a three-and-a-half-inch blade during the attack, Shea said.
“There was indications that at one point he may have resided in Grand Traverse County,” Shea said.
Shea credited citizens with confronting and subduing the suspect, including one man with a concealed pistol license who can be seen in videos on social media drawing his gun on the man in the Walmart parking lot.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also applauded the “good Samaritans” who stepped in, saying their “quick action undoubtedly saved lives following yesterday’s heinous attack.”
“My thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and their families, as well as the Grand Traverse community as a whole,” she said in a statement.
Bystanders corner Walmart stabbing suspect
The scene unfolds in a parking lot outside the Traverse City store before an arrest.
Chris O’Brien, social: highon16widez
The stabbings happened late Saturday afternoon in the checkout area of the Walmart near the Grand Traverse Crossing mall in Garfield Township, just south of Traverse City. On Sunday, a large portion of the parking lot was still roped off with police tape.
“We know he entered the store at approximately 4:10 pm,” Shea said.
Reports of a mass stabbing attack were reported at 4:43 pm to central dispatch, with at least one caller stating: “There was a man with a knife inside the Walmart store, stabbing people.”
Shea said he believes all 11 stabbings were recorded on security camera footage, 9 of which were inside the store, which will be part of the investigation.
All of the victims, who range in age from 29 to 84 years old, are expected to survive. The victims include a:
70-year-old male84-year-old female82-year-old male29-year-ole female80-year-old female67-year-old female38-year-old male39-year-ole male65-year-old female41-year-old male55-year-old male
“Now, we have 10 remaining patients,” said Dr. Thomas C. Schermerhorn, Munson’s chief medical officer.
Even though six of the 11 victims are over the age of 60, Shea said it didn’t appear that the suspect was targeting seniors.
“There were some younger people involved, so I don’t know that we can draw that conclusion,” he said.
Grand Traverse County sheriff discusses mass stabbing at a Walmart
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea updates the media on the investigation of the mass stabbing at a Walmart, Sunday, July 27, 2025.
Jacob Carah, Special to The Detroit News
Authorities, meanwhile, continue to search for a motive.
But officials still believe the attack was random and there was limited “conversation” during the entire ordeal.
“There was minimal conversation throughout the entire incident,” Shea said. “It was very limited as far as what he (the suspect) did say.”
Shea wouldn’t confirm if the suspect had lived in a local homeless encampment called the Pines near Boardman Lake that was cleared earlier this spring. Traverse City’s new “no camping” ordinance, which took effect May 6, effectively removed the encampment last spring, with the Traverse City Police Department and Sheriff’s office removing 14 individuals from the park.
“We cannot confirm at this time that he was a member or resident of ‘the Pines,” said Shea. When pressed on the matter, the sheriff replied, “I’m not going to comment on that right now until we know more; I’m not going to touch that.”
Help from other shoppers
Shea commended those who helped stop the attack and the quick response once a 911 call came in at 4:43 p.m.
Video online shows several shoppers, one pointing a gun at the suspect who is wearing a hat with blood smears on his right hand, being circled by a large group telling him to “stop, stop right there, get on the ground!”
Shea said the attacks could’ve been even worse.
“From the time of the (911) call to the time of actual custody… the individual was detained in 1 minute,” he said. “That is remarkable. That mitigated who knows how many additional victims.”
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