(TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.) -- Authorities were searching for the 42-year-old suspect in Saturday's Michigan Walmart stabbing rampage less than 24 hours before the incident, the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on Monday.
The sheriff’s office on Friday received a court order from the State of Michigan 7th Probate Court of Emmet County instructing that Bradford James Gille be taken into custody, according to the release.
Sheriff's deputies spent Friday and Saturday patrolling and actively searching for Gille, whom the order identified as homeless. The sheriff’s office did not say why the court order was issued.
"Regrettably, less than 24 hours after receiving this order, a tragic series of events occurred in Traverse City," the sheriff's office said in the release. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this devastating situation."
Gille, whom authorities said was from Cheboygan County, Michigan, was formally charged Monday with one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. The charges came after he allegedly stabbed 11 people at a Walmart store in Michigan and was apprehended by a group of citizens, including one armed with a gun, authorities said on Sunday.
Noelle Moeggenberg, prosecuting attorney for Grand Traverse County, said each charge against Gille carries a possible life sentence if he is convicted.
Gille was arraigned in the 86th District Court in Traverse County on Monday afternoon. He did not enter a plea and a judge overseeing the hearing said an attorney will be appointed to represent him.
During the arraignment, a handcuffed Gille, who appeared at the hearing via closed-circuit television from the Grand Traverse County Jail, attempted to interrupt the Magistrate Tammi Rodgers with off-topic remarks. Rodgers muted his microphone.
The magistrate granted Moeggenberg's request for high bail for Gille, alleging that he had committed "one of the most serious crimes that one could commit in the state of Michigan."
Rodgers set Gille's bail at $100,000 cash and ordered him to return to court for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 6 and a preliminary hearing on Aug. 12.
Gille did not enter a plea to the charges.
Michigan court records show that Gille was arrested in 2016 on charges of digging up and damaging a grave. The charges against Gille, including tampering with a dead body and destroying a gravestone or memorial, were dropped in 2017, when a judge ruled he was mentally unfit to stand trial and was not guilty by reason of insanity.
A judge, according to the court records, ordered further mental health evaluations for Gille, and by March 2017, ruled that Gille could not be held criminally responsible due to his mental condition. Gille was committed to a psychiatric facility and the case was officially closed in April 2017, according to records.
The suspect allegedly entered the Walmart store in Traverse City, about 150 miles north of Grand Rapids, around 4:10 p.m. on Saturday and began attacking people with a folding knife, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
"It appears that these were all random acts," said Shea, adding that the attacks began near the checkout area.
Shea said investigators are combing through security video that recorded nearly all of the attack.
Witnesses helped law enforcement officers stop the attack and take the suspect in custody, Shea said.
Bystander video that surfaced online and was confirmed as authentic by the sheriff showed a group of citizens, including one who drew a handgun on the suspect, forcing him to drop his knife.
"What they did was amazing," said Shea, adding that the citizens likely saved others from being attacked.
Shea said a sheriff's deputy who was near the Walmart at the time of the attack responded to the scene in less than a minute and placed the suspect under arrest.
A motive for the attack remains under investigation, Shea said.
Shea said the suspect attacked the victims without any warning and without making any verbal threats. He said one person was stabbed just outside the store, another was stabbed in the vestibule of the store and the remaining nine victims were attacked inside the store.
The victims, six men and four women, ranged in ages from 29 to 84, Shea said, with three of the victims in their 80s and one in his 70s.
The victims were taken to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, with six of them initially listed in critical condition and the remaining five in serious condition, authorities said Saturday.
"Over the past 12 hours, we've seen encouraging signs of recovery from our patients," Munson Healthcare said in an updated statement on Sunday morning, which noted that seven of the stabbing victims were in fair condition and four were in serious condition. Officials said during the Sunday afternoon press conference that five of the stabbing victims were now in fair condition, four were in serious condition and one had been released from the hospital.
Shea said no other suspects are being sought in the attack: "We believe he acted alone at this time."
Moeggenberg, the Grand Traverse County prosecuting attorney, said during Sunday's press conference that Gille is expected to be arraigned on Monday. Moeggenberg said he's charged with terrorism because he allegedly attempted to strike fear in the community.
"Thankfully no one else was injured," the sheriff said, adding, "Eleven is 11 too many but thank God it wasn't more."
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement on X that she was monitoring the situation.
"I'm in touch with law enforcement about the horrible news out of Traverse City. Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence," she said.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement on social media that FBI personnel responded to the scene, "to provide any necessary support to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office in their investigation of the attacks at the Walmart."
In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson said "Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we're thankful for the swift action of first responders. We'll continue working closely with law enforcement during their investigation."
ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway and Jason Volack contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.