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On July 26, 2025, police say a fortyish white male named Bradford James Gille carried out a wild stabbing spree in a WalMart store in Garfield Township near Traverse City, Michigan. His folding knife, which appeared to be a heavy-duty Buck 110 folder or a copy thereof, pierced the bodies of eleven innocent people.
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Shoppers reportedly stampeded for the exit…but not all. Video recorded a tall, broad shouldered African-American man who rushed to the rescue. US Marine Corps veteran Derrick Perry drew a small handgun, confronted the wild man, and captured him. With the aid of another courageous citizen, Matt Kolokowski, Perry held the offender at gunpoint until police arrived to take him into custody.
Derrick Perry The Hero
Both Traverse City Chief of Police Lauren Gilbert and Michael Shea, Sheriff of Grand Traverse County, have hailed Derrick Perry as a hero. He and his concealed carry handgun had clearly prevented much injury and saved many lives.
Alan Gottlieb, Chairman of the Citizens’ Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, applauded Perry and said, “Armed citizens have often intervened to stop deadly attacks. When such incidents occur, we are often disappointed when the establishment media seems to quickly downplay, if not completely ignore, the use of a firearm by an armed citizen to intervene and stop the mayhem. This time, the incident was captured on video, so it cannot be ignored. Mister Perry’s courageous action deserves recognition, not just by his fellow Michigan residents, but by Americans everywhere. We applaud Mr. Perry for stepping in when it really counted.”
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Gottlieb added. “We extend our hopes for the full and swift recovery of all 11 victims of this brutal attack, and we congratulate all of the other individuals who stepped in to back Mr. Perry as he confronted the suspect. We are convinced his heroic action not only saved lives, but was crucial in detaining the suspect so justice can now take its course.”
Legal Issues
Some in the anti-gun camp are appalled that an ordinary citizen was carrying in WalMart and wonder if it shouldn’t be illegal. WalMart company policy discourages open carry of firearms on their premises but does not forbid legal concealed carry. Police have reportedly stated that rescuer Perry’s gun was legal.
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Those who might have been killed or severely injured if the knife-wielder’s rampage had continued can thank not only Mr. Perry, but the forces that have been fighting for gun owners’ civil rights. Some Michiganders can remember when their state was “may issue,” and the issuing authorities could issue or deny a carry permit on a whim. Black applicants, such as Mr. Perry, were often denied a permit out of hand in the old days. That ended when pro-gun forces largely led by MCRGO, the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, managed to get a law passed making their state “shall issue,” requiring that the permit be granted to any adult with clean criminal record and sound mind. In 2022, the rest of the nation caught up when the United States Supreme Court, in the Bruen decision, eliminated “may issue” schemes in favor of shall issue.
Today, an estimated one out of every twelve Michigan citizens over 21 is licensed to carry concealed, and the rate is even higher in the northern counties such as Grand Traverse. However, Michigan has not yet joined the majority of states, 29 of them, which now follow the Vermont model known as Constitutional Carry and allow law-abiding adults to carry loaded and concealed in public with no permit required.
Preventing Crime
The Heritage Foundation estimates that each year in this country, half a million to three million armed citizens draw their guns to stop crimes. In the vast majority of these incidents, it ends as the Traverse City WalMart case did: no shots fired, no blood spilled by the armed citizen, but the crime in question stopped and thwarted. The offenders often flee (experts recommend not to pursue, as a general rule) or surrender, as happened in Traverse City.
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Thirteen out of fifty mass shootings were stopped by armed citizens during one period studied, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, Professor John Lott, head of the Crime Prevention Research Center, feels that the FBI study under-represents the actual number of these atrocities stopped by private citizens with guns. He found that “armed citizens thwarted 34.4% of active shootings between 2014 and 2021.”
Why aren’t more mass killings stopped by armed citizens? Largely because so many mad-dog murderers select “gun-free zones” as their killing ground, so no one will be able to shoot back at the cowards. “Gun-Free Zone” can be translated as “Hunting Preserve for Psychopathic Killers.”
Why?
What leads to such attacks? The following is attributed to the Detroit News and Wikipedia: “Gille was reportedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1999, and his history of serious mental health issues and rap sheet spans since then. Between 2015 and September 2024, Gille lived in the Center For Forensic Psychiatry in the Detroit suburb of Saline, Michigan. Gille’s mother told the Petoskey News-Review in 2007 that her son, who grew up in Petoskey, was fine when he took his medicine, adding that ‘the problem is his illness tells him that he is fine and doesn’t need to take his medication. He’s also been through the (mental health) evaluations so many times that he knows how to answer their questions.’ She added that his behavior was controlled the best when he was either in jail or on probation.”
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We wish a swift recovery to the attacker’s eleven victims, and we salute the heroism of armed citizen Derrick Perry. As always, the law says that Mr. Gille is innocent until proven guilty.
The post Good Guy With A Gun: Traverse City, MI Edition appeared first on Athlon Outdoors Exclusive Firearm Updates, Reviews & News.
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