A U.S. Marine Corps veteran is being praised as a “hero” after helping stop an armed suspect who stabbed 11 people at a Walmart in Traverse City, Michigan, on Saturday.
In a Sunday Facebook post, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea confirmed that police officials were notified at roughly 4:43 p.m. on Saturday that a man with a knife was “actively stabbing people” at a Walmart store in Michigan’s Garfield Township.
“At the time of the deputy’s arrival, multiple citizens, including one who was armed with a pistol, were confronting the male suspect in the parking lot and preventing him from harming further people and from leaving,” Shea wrote. “The deputy took the suspect into custody without further incident.”
The Grand Traverse County sheriff identified the stabbing suspect as 42-year-old Bradford James Gille and confirmed that he was arrested and is being held at the Grand Traverse County Jail.
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“Requested charges will be as follows: One count of terrorism, 11 counts of assault with intent to murder,” Shea stated. “Mr. Gille’s history shows prior assaultive incidents, as well as controlled substance violations.”
Shea noted that a motive for Saturday’s stabbing incident has not yet been determined.
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows U.S. Marine Corps veteran Derrick Perry confronting Gille and pointing his firearm at the armed stabbing suspect. In the video, Perry can be heard ordering the suspect to drop his knife, shouting, “Drop it! Throw the knife now. Throw it away!”
In response to the video of Perry holding the stabbing suspect at gunpoint and ordering him to drop his weapon, one social media user wrote, “Derrick Perry is a hero.”
In a statement on Facebook, Nikita Marie Holland, a member of the Overheard in Traverse City group, also described Perry as a “hero.” Holland noted that Perry was “the man that took his gun out and risked his own life to save many lives.” Commenting on the Facebook post, Kiyanah Perry, the Marine Corps veteran’s daughter, wrote, “Proud daughter moment.”
Sharing a picture of the U.S. Marine Corps veteran, the Military Support social media account wrote, “This man is Derrick Perry a U.S. Marine Veteran who held the suspect from the Walmart stabbing at gun point, which prevented more tragedy & allowed for emergency responders to quickly access victims. Give this hero the recognition his actions deserve.”
