Traverse City Walmart stabbing suspect pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, ending criminal case

The man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart near Traverse City, Michigan, will be committed to a state psychiatric hospital rather than stand trial, after a judge accepted his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday.

"This is the end of the criminal case," Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg said in a statement.

Bradford James Gille, 43, of Afton, Michigan, entered the plea to the charges against him: one count of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder. He waived his preliminary examination in the 86th District Court, meaning he agreed prosecutors had probable cause to believe he committed the crimes.

The court reviewed reports from the state's Center for Forensic Psychiatry and found Gille was mentally ill and, because of that illness, "unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law," the prosecutor's office said.

Gille was ordered into treatment at the forensic center, which provides mental health care to people in Michigan's criminal justice system. He will be evaluated again after 60 days, and prosecutors will petition the local probate court to continue his treatment. The state's Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Committee, part of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, will oversee his treatment and supervision from there.

Moeggenberg said it is highly unlikely Gille will ever be released to a non-secure setting, citing the severity of the attack and an earlier insanity finding in his case history. Gille was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2016 after digging up a grave at a Petoskey cemetery.

Gille is accused of using a folding knife with a 3.5-inch blade to attack five men and six women, including a store employee, on July 26, 2025. The attack happened near the checkout area and continued into the parking lot, where bystanders — one of them armed with a pistol — subdued him until deputies arrived, the sheriff's office said. Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea said at the time that the attack appeared random. All 11 victims were later released from the hospital.

Gille pleaded not guilty after his arrest. Judge Michael Stepka found him incompetent to stand trial in August 2025 and ordered him into treatment at the forensic center. After months of care, Stepka ruled in May that Gille understood the proceedings and could assist his own defense — a separate question from his mental state at the time of the attack, which Tuesday's plea resolved.

One of the victims is suing Walmart, alleging the store failed to protect its customers. That case is not affected by Tuesday's ruling.

The above video originally aired on Aug. 22, 2025.