Eleven people were injured Saturday when a 42-year-old man stormed into a Michigan Walmart and began stabbing shoppers in what authorities call a random attack.
The victims, ages 29 to 84, were taken to the hospital after the violence in Traverse City, a Munson Healthcare spokesperson said.
A customer described hearing commotion a few aisles over as she picked up items. Still shaken from the incident, Julia Martell said she ran down an aisle as the suspect barreled past someone and "angled toward me."
"I’m still sitting and grappling with the weight of realizing that it was kind of a life-or-death moment," she said.
The suspect, Bradford James Gille, was subdued by shoppers and taken into custody when a deputy arrived. He faces charges of assault with intent to murder and terrorism, authorities said.
Who is Bradford James Gille?
Hours before the attack, sheriff’s deputies in Emmet County were searching for Gille on Friday evening and Saturday morning after they received a court order instructing deputies to take him into custody. The details of the court order are unclear.
Deputies could not locate Gille, who is homeless with no known physical address in Emmet County, according to the order.
"Regrettably, less than 24 hours after receiving this order, a tragic series of events occurred in Traverse City," the sheriff’s office said Monday on Facebook. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this devastating situation."
Gille has a record of assault incidents and "controlled substance violations," Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael D. Shea said Sunday.
Michigan court documents show that Gille has a lengthy criminal history, including charges of public intoxication, misdemeanor assault and battery, misdemeanor aggravated assault, drug possession and assault with a dangerous weapon. A charge of malicious destruction of tombs and memorials was dismissed after he was found incompetent to stand trial, according to court records.
Monday court hearing
At a court hearing Monday, Gille had to be interrupted by the defense attorney and the judge multiple times when he started talking about alleged conspiracies.
The lawyer assigned to work with Gille, Janet Mistele, had to cut him off when he started saying, “Anyway, I saw a black and white video on the internet about psychotropic drugs.”
Magistrate Judge Tammi Rodgers muted Gille's microphone when he began talking about the supposed sale of cigarettes containing fiberglass and chemicals "just to kill off this population."
Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg mentioned two prior assault convictions and “a history of mental illness, including prior involuntary hospitalizations” in asking for a significant cash bond.
“We believe that it’s truly the only way to protect the public at this point," Moeggenberg said.
A motive in the stabbings remains unclear. Michigan officials said they are seeking a terrorism charge in addition to 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
Moeggenberg said officials believe the attack was "in some ways done to affect the entire community" and to "change how maybe we operate on a daily basis."
"That is why we’re looking at that terrorism charge," Moeggenberg said.
Mistele at Monday's hearing said Gille would enter a plea of not guilty on every count. He was placed on a $100,000 bond.
Authorities say the attack was random
The incident began around 4:40 p.m. near the Walmart checkout area, authorities said. Gille, armed with a folding knife with a 3½-inch blade, entered the store and stabbed 11 people, authorities said. One of the victims was a Walmart employee, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
The sheriff’s office said Gille was acting alone.
One victim is hospitalized in serious condition, five in fair condition and two in good condition, Munson Healthcare said in an update Monday. Two people were transferred, and one was treated and released.
Witnesses recount horror
Martell, 32, told NBC News she was shopping when she heard a disturbance a few aisles over. She said she initially did not think anything of it until she saw a man running with a knife.
The man looked "crazed" and was laser-focused on trying to get to the store’s exit, she said.
“I could have easily been next,” she said.
Michael Miller, 34, said he was one of the good Samaritans who helped subdue the attacker until authorities arrived. He had walked into the store with his fiancée, Julia Ling, and four of their children when they heard people screaming.
Ling said she pulled the children behind a bread rack. She said she saw the man stab one victim in the produce section and another by the self-checkout. He then ran toward her and her children and lunged at them before turning his attention to Miller, she told NBC News.
Miller and a group of other people pushed the man out the door and got him on the ground. Miller called 911, he said.
Matthew Kolakowski, 39, a retired Marine Corps veteran, described the moment he and others went after Gille.
"I wasn’t gonna let him go, I knew that," he told NBC News. "He wasn’t going to get away from me."
Kolakowski and his brother-in-law, Chris O’Brien, said they sprang into action after the man stabbed people.
"You stop thinking about yourself," Kolakowski said. "The amount of blood is what changed it. This isn’t fake, this isn’t a game no more, this is real life, and this guy has to be stopped."
Walmart said in a statement that "violence like this is unacceptable."
"Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders," it said.
