Eleven people were stabbed Saturday in a Michigan Walmart before citizens blocked the escape of the suspect in the spree.
Munson Healthcare said that on Saturday, six victims of the incident were in critical condition and five in serious condition, according to CBS. By Sunday afternoon, two people were in serious condition, eight were in fair condition and one had been released.
Bradford James Gille, 42, of Afton, Michigan, is facing one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder, according to the New York Post.
Gille has a past that includes arrests for criminal mischief and drug offenses. In 2014, a vandalism conviction netted him 49 days in a Florida jail.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea praised the bystanders who ensured Gille could not get away.
“It’s not very often that we have citizens that are willing to step up and take action,” he said.
Matt Kolakowski and Chris O’Brien, were in Traverse City for a family vacation and stopped at Walmart to buy supplies, according to CNN. Kolakowski’s 13-year-old daughter and her friend tagged along.
Normal soon went out the window when screaming erupted.
“He’s got a knife!” Kolakowski, 39, said a store employee yelled after several people near the checkout area were stabbed.
The former Marine told his daughter and her friend to stay put as he and O’Brien chased the suspect.
Watch: Brave bystander saves lives by confronting Walmart stabbing suspect https://t.co/U0uYpIX7Bo pic.twitter.com/JeFTgh2n4i
— New York Post (@nypost) July 27, 2025
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, I don’t got no weapon, so what am I going to do?’ So, I just grabbed an empty grocery cart and just took off after him as hard as I could,” Kolakowski said, saying he saw two victims stabbed as the suspect fled the store.
In the parking lot, Kolakowski hit the suspect in the ankle with the cart. The attacker scrambled out of the way before Kolakowski could slam the cart into him. A chase through the parking lot ensued.
“He was screaming something about him being a soldier, and that everybody in Walmart were bad people,” Kolakowski said. “His eyes were just bulging out of his head.”
Another bystander Kolakowski later learned was a Marine drew his gun.
“The other Marine told me that he just went shooting at a range, and he forgot to take his pistol off his hip,” Kolakowski said. “That’s what it all came down to.”
At that point, the attacker dropped the knife. Kolakowski held the suspect down until law enforcement officers arrived.
“I just turned into somebody that I haven’t been in a long time and just stayed on top of him until the deputy ran up and jumped on top of him with a rifle in his face, and I helped the deputy arrest him,” he said.
Kolakowski then helped treat the wounded in a chaotic scene.
“It was just mass panic in the parking lot – ambulances, lights everywhere, sirens everywhere, blood everywhere, people getting loaded up on carts, put in ambulances,” Kolakowski said. “It was quite the rush.”
O’Brien went inside to find Kolakowski’s daughter.
“When I walked back in, it was an absolute nightmare,” O’Brien said. “It was blood everywhere.”
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