This one could have been a full-blown massacre — but it wasn’t, thanks to a Marine veteran who refused to stand by while chaos unfolded.
Dramatic footage out of Traverse City, Michigan, shows the moment Derrick Perry, a Marine veteran, confronted a knife-wielding attacker who had just stabbed 11 people at a Walmart on Saturday.
In the video, Perry can be seen leveling his handgun at the suspect, Bradford James Gille, 42, and barking commands: “Drop it! Throw the knife now. Throw it away!” It’s tense, it’s raw, and it’s the kind of scene that perfectly illustrates why armed citizens matter.
While Perry held his ground, other bystanders joined in — some using shopping carts as makeshift shields to keep Gille from lunging again. One clip even shows a stabbing victim lying near the store entrance as the chaos unfolded. Eventually, Perry and the crowd managed to force Gille to the ground and contain him until police arrived.
And make no mistake, the suspect wasn’t playing around. Authorities say this was a deliberate, unprovoked attack. Gille now faces 11 counts of assault with intent to murder and terrorism-related charges. His victims range in age from 29 to 85 — six of them seniors — and while several were in critical condition initially, Sheriff Michael Shea confirmed Sunday that all are expected to survive.
The National Association for Gun Rights praised Perry as the definition of a “good guy with a gun.” In a post on X, they wrote: “Meet Derrick Perry, the good guy with a gun who stepped in to stop the Walmart stabbing suspect in Traverse City, Michigan, and held him until police arrived. This is the kind of courage that deserves recognition. Armed and prepared citizens save lives.”
Perry’s daughter echoed that sentiment in her own Facebook post, calling the whole thing a “proud daughter moment.”
This all started just after 5 p.m., when Gille reportedly began randomly attacking shoppers and employees. Police later revealed he has a history of violent crime and drug use.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth for the anti-gun crowd: without Perry, this could have been much worse. Eleven people were already stabbed. How many more before police arrived? It’s the exact scenario gun control activists pretend doesn’t happen — a legally armed citizen stepping in when seconds count and saving lives.
