Walmart still closed after mass stabbings in Traverse City; patient conditions improve

Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News on Jul 28, 2025

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GARFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Walmart store where 11 people were stabbed Saturday in what appeared to be random attack by a Cheboygan man remained closed Monday, though community members were rallying together to support one another.

Linda Peters was walking her two small dogs in front of the closed Walmart on Monday morning when a UPS truck pulled up and parked, sending her pets into a frenzy of excitement.

Out popped the UPS driver who bent down on one knee and handed treats to Chloe, a multipoo and Penny, a Shih Tzu mix, outside the Garfield Township store.

"That's what kind of a community this is," Peters said as her little dogs climbed all over the driver, who declined to give his name, but is a regular visitor with Peters on her morning walks.

"(The attack) it's a random thing, and it was extremely unfortunate. I was just horrified to hear what humans do to each other," Peters said. "... I talked to a couple of the Walmart people and they were shaken up but I got the sense that the customers came together, and which I thought was a really cool thing. I thought how brave of them, considering what they were up against."

An arraignment has yet to be scheduled in Traverse City's 86th District Court for Bradford Gille, the 42-year-old man accused of stabbing 11 victims. He's being held in Grand Traverse County Jail.

The victims, meanwhile, continue to recover. As of Monday morning, one victim remained in serious condition while five patients were listed in fair condition. Two patients were listed in good condition and two patients have been treated and transferred to another facility, said a Munson Medical Center spokeswoman. One patient has been treated and released.

The Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority on Monday began offering free community support services for another in need in the stabbings' aftermath. Services will be offered through Wednesday at the Northwest Michigan College Innovation Center, located at 1701 E. Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan.

The authority also was expanding its staffing of the Grand Traverse Mental Health Crisis and Access Center, now open around the clock, with certified peer support staff through Northwest Peer Network to work alongside our staff for anyone seeking support.

Peters, who lives in the Traverse City area and winters in Florida, says reports about bystanders stepping in on Saturday try to stop the assailant are exactly what this community is made of.

"Whoever it was, they deserve a heck of a lot of credit for stepping in," Peters said as repairmen and security were combing the parking lot outside the store Monday morning.

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