Authorities to seek terrorism charge in Michigan Walmart knife attack

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A man accused of entering a Walmart in northern Michigan and randomly stabbing 11 shoppers before being detained by bystanders in the store parking lot is expected to face terrorism and assault charges, authorities said Sunday.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea identified the suspect as Bradford Gille of Afton, Mich., and said a motive for the attack remains unclear.

Gille, 42, who Shea said had “prior assaultive incidents as well as controlled-substance violations,” said little as he was detained by authorities. He is expected to be charged with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder.

Shea praised the quick response from law enforcement officers who arrived within three minutes after receiving the call about the stabbing, but also a group of bystanders who intervened and detained Gille in the parking lot of the store in Traverse City. The community of about 16,000 people is along Lake Michigan.

Gille entered the store at 4:10 p.m. and remained there for some time before the attack began, authorities said. Calls began coming in to authorities at 4:43 p.m. Saturday and a sheriff’s deputy arrived at 4:46 p.m.

Shea said the “remarkable” efforts likely prevented others from being harmed, adding a 3½-inch cutting blade was used in the attack.

“I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough,” Shea said at a 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.”

Gille remained jailed and his name did not appear Sunday in Michigan’s online jail records. Messages left Sunday with phone numbers and an email listed for Gille were not immediately returned. His previous court cases did not have an attorney’s name listed in public records.

Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Atty. Noelle Moeggenberg told reporters that the terrorism charge will be brought because the attack affected the community, not just one individual.

“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,” Moeggenberg said. “So that is why we are looking at that terrorism charge.”

Shea said the 11 victims were both men and women and ranged in age from 29 to 84, including one Walmart employee. Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Tom Schermerhorn said at a news conference that one patient was treated and released, two were in serious condition and the rest are in fair condition. All were expected to survive.

Steven Carter was loading his truck in the Walmart parking lot Saturday when he saw a man cut a woman’s throat with a knife.

About five minutes later, the man was surrounded by shoppers in the parking lot, including one who was holding a gun. The group of five or six people kept yelling to the man, “Drop the knife,” Carter said, and the man responded: “I don’t care, I don’t care.” He kept backing away from the crowd, before someone tackled and subdued him.

“At first, it was disbelief. I thought maybe it was like a terror attack,” said Carter, who delivers customer orders from Walmart. “And then it was fear, disbelief, shock. And that was, it was just amazing. And it all happened fast. Like he was totally subdued on the ground by the time police arrived.”

Emergency vehicles and uniformed first responders gathered in the parking lot of the shopping center that houses several other retail stores. Authorities also were seen interviewing employees, still wearing blue uniform vests and name tags, nearby as the response gave way to an investigation.

Tiffany DeFell, 36, who lives in Honor, about 25 miles from Traverse City, said she was in the store’s parking lot when she saw chaos erupt around her.

“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.”

Shea said the weapon involved appeared to be a folding-style knife, adding that the stabbing started near the checkout counter of the store and that his victims were “not predetermined.”

Walmart said in a statement that it would continue to work closely with law enforcement in the investigation. A Sunday statement said that the store’s associates would be paid while the store remains closed and that it made available counseling services. It wasn’t known when the store would reopen.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a social media post that bureau officials were responding to “provide any necessary support.”

Traverse City is a popular vacation spot on the coast of Lake Michigan. It is known for its cherry festival, wineries and lighthouses and is about 25 miles east of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Householder, Sun and Casey write for the Associated Press. Householder and Sun reported from Traverse City, Casey from Chicago. AP writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.