At least 11 people were stabbed early Saturday evening at a Traverse City, Michigan Walmart superstore before a fellow shopper, who was armed, ended the attack and detained the knife-wielder until police arrived.
Six victims were listed in critical condition, and five serious.
"Eleven [victims] is too many," Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said, "but thank God it wasn’t more."
And there likely would have been more had Derrick Perry not stepped in to confront the 42-year-old suspect.
While other shoppers ran away from the assailant in search of safety, Perry, who was at the store shopping with his family, charged the attacker as he drew his weapon, per eyewitness accounts.
Perry is reported to have a background in security and it showed last weekend.
He’s now being hailed as a hero because of it.
Someone posted a photo of Perry on social media and said, "This is Derrick Perry! He is the hero from today's stabbing at Walmart, he is the man that took his gun out and risked his own life to save many lives! Thank you so much Derrick."
The suspect was later identified as Bradford James Gille, of Afton, Michigan, and has multiple past arrests, for mainly petty crimes like criminal mischief and minor drug offenses.
The confrontation between Perry and Gille is reminiscent of an observation made more than a decade ago following a more horrific incident.
In December 2012, the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) then-Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre was criticized for his response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun," he said, and Perry is proof that a good guy with a gun also comes in handy to stop a madman with a knife in a crowded store.
Fortunately for Perry and especially for the other Walmart shoppers, Michigan has a robust concealed carry program. Guns have always been common in the Great Lake State where hunting and sport shooting are popular.
In addition, in response to the civil unrest that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, gun sales skyrocketed, prompting gun control advocates to predict a "Gunfight at the OK Corral" mentality.
It didn’t happen. In fact the reverse happened — crime is actually plummeting.
According to the latest data, violent crime is down 11%, and property crime is down 12% since COVID. People may still consider committing crime, but on second thought may conclude that they might get their head blown off doing it.
Cam Edwards, an editor at Bearing Arms and a frequent Newsmax TV contributor, stated the correlation as simply "Many More Guns, Much Less Crime."
While the public understands that principle, politicians are still working under the delusion that if they can just ban guns, everything will be "Lollipops and Roses."
Five years ago the Canadian government set aside a cool half-billion dollars for a mandatory gun buyback program. It’s not working.
After five years less than 10% of the Canadian gun owners have complied.
They know what’s best for themselves, even if the politicians sitting in Ottawa don’t.
And the Traverse City Walmart shoppers were fortunate that they were in Michigan and not a gun-grabbing state like California.
Sometimes it just takes a good guy with a gun.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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