Terrorism charges in bloody knife attack at Michigan Walmart

A man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Michigan Walmart will be charged with terrorism and assault, after leaving a scene of carnage in his wake, authorities said Sunday.

Bradford James Gille, a 42-year-old Cheboygan County resident, allegedly began attacking shoppers and employees near the checkout counter with a three-inch folding knife at 4:43 p.m. Saturday, the Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Office said Saturday. Bystanders, including two Marines, subdued him about a minute later as first responders arrived.

Gille will be charged with 11 accounts of assault with intent to murder, as well as terrorism, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg said at a Sunday news conference. The terrorism charge stemmed from Gille’s solo but “very random act of violence” that aimed to instill “fear in the entire community, and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis,” Moeggenberg said. Gille was being held at the Grand Traverse County jail pending arraignment early next week.

The 11 victims were rushed to Munson Medical Center, six initially in critical condition and five serious. By Sunday afternoon most had been upgraded, with no one in critical condition, two people still in serious condition, eight in fair condition, and one person already treated and released, the hospital said. The six men and five women, ranging in age from their 20s to 84, included one Walmart employee, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea said.

“I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough,” Shea said at the news conference. “When you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody, the individual was detained within one minute. That is remarkable.”

Those citizens also tended victims until first responders took over, Shea said. They included two U.S. Marines, one with a concealed-carry permit who whipped out his pistol and trained it on Gilles as bystanders closed in.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matt Kolakowski, 39, said his military instincts kicked in when he heard someone yell, “He’s got a knife!” he told CNN. He and his brother-in-law, Chris O’Brien, were with Kolakowski’s 13-year-old daughter and her friend. They told the girls to hunker down and took off in the direction of the chaos, Kolakowski dragging an empty grocery cart.

The man ran, stabbing people as he went, Kolakowski recounted, even after the marine knocked him down with the cart. That’s about when Derrick Perry, the other Marine, pulled out his firearm as others screamed at Gille to drop the knife. Once he did so, Kolakowski, Perry and others tackled and held Gille down as police and ambulances descended.

Witnesses described a chaotic and bloody scene of carnage. Inside the store was “an absolute nightmare,” O’Brien told CNN, with “blood everywhere.”

Walmart employee Tasha Nash told Channel2 Now that there were victims in every department, some of whom went into cardiac arrest, which police corroborated.

“The whole store started screaming and running,” shopper Amber Paull told the station. “I saw one man stabbed in the eye.”

Witness Steven Carter saw the attacker cut a woman’s throat, he told The Associated Press.

The FBI is investigating and providing support, director Dan Boningo said, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was monitoring the situation.

Walmart said it was cooperating with authorities and did not know when the store would reopen.

“Violence like this is unacceptable,” the retailer said in a statement Saturday. “Our thoughts are with those who were injured, and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders.”

With News Wire Services

Originally Published: July 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM EDT