Authorities have released security footage from a July 26 mass stabbing at a Walmart store near Traverse City that injured 11 people.
The footage was posted on YouTube by MLive on Monday. Bradford James Gille, 42, of Afton, who has struggled with serious mental health issues, is accused of randomly attacking the victims with a folding knife that had a 3.5-inch blade before other shoppers stopped him.
The footage shows the attacker wearing a dark-color ballcap, light-color shirt, blue pants and black shoes and carrying a large backpack. He can be seen inside the store where he approaches a shopper and lunges at her before she falls to the ground. He then lunges at another customer, who flees.
The man then moves toward a main aisleway, where he lunges at another shopper who recoils, holding his stomach. Another customer then falls backward as the suspect runs past him. The assailant briefly ducks into an aisle, then returns to the main walkway, where he lunges at yet another customer, then rushes toward the exit.
Security cameras at other spots in the store capture a woman running from the assailant with a cart full of groceries as he continues toward the exit. Another shows the suspect quickly entering an aisle, thrusting his arm toward a shopper who collapses, then heading back toward the exit. Just before leaving the store, the attacker lunges toward another bystander, who retreats out of frame.
Cameras then capture him leaving the store, where he seems to attack a shopper from the back, leaving the customer lying on the pavement. Two civilians then push shopping carts at him several times, with one of them losing his footwear in the process.
The assailant struggles to evade the shoppers, at one point seeming to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Four or five customers then corner the suspect between vehicles and he backs away from them. One of the customers appears to be holding a weapon; a witness previously told reporters that one of them was carrying a gun.
Authorities have credited the shoppers who stepped in with having helped stop the attack. A sheriff’s deputy arrived and took the suspect into custody.
Authorities said the attack injured six male and five female victims of various ages. A witness said one of the victims suffered a cut throat.
Gille has been charged with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. Each charge carries a possible life sentence.
His family members said Gille has a long history of mental health issues, including paranoid schizophrenia, and was charged in 2016 with disinterring and mutilating dead bodies and destroying tombs at a cemetery in Petoskey because he believed his father, who was alive, was buried there.
Gille is being held on a $1 million bond. His next court appearance is slated for 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to online records for 86th District Court in Traverse City.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com