Marine veterans Matthew Kolakowski and Derrick Perry played a major role in helping to stop a man who had stabbed several people at a Walmart near Traverse City, Michigan, over the weekend.
“Both individuals were instrumental in the detaining of the individual until law enforcement could arrive,” Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea told Task & Purpose on Tuesday.
Bradford James Gille faces charges of terrorism and assault with intent to murder after allegedly using a 3-and-a-half-inch knife to stab 11 people at the mall on July 26, a Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office news release says. Gille pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Monday.
Kolakowski, an Iraq War veteran, was at the Walmart with his 13-year-old daughter, her friend, and his brother-in-law when the attack began, CNN reported. After telling the children to stay where they were, Kolakowski rammed Gille with an empty shopping cart and then lifted the cart in an attempt to hit the attacker with it.
Gille got away, but Perry confronted the man by pointing his personally owned pistol at Gille. Video of the scene shows Perry and three other men walking towards Gille as one of them shouts: “Drop it! Throw the knife that way! Throw it away! Throw it away!”
Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office began receiving calls at 4:43 p.m. from people reporting that a man at the Walmart had a knife, and a deputy arrived at the scene three minutes later, the sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page.
“At the time of the deputy’s arrival, multiple citizens, including one who was armed with a pistol, were confronting the male suspect in the parking lot and preventing him from harming further people and from leaving,” the post says. “The deputy took the suspect into custody without further incident.”
Kolakowski enlisted in the Marines in September 2004 and went on to become a landing support specialist, according to his official service record. He deployed to Iraq from August 2006 to March 2007, and he left the Corps as a corporal in September 2008. His last duty assignment was with Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton in California.
Top Stories This Week
His military awards include the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.
Perry served from October 1994 to June 1995 as a basic operational communicator, leaving the Corps as a private first class, his service record says. His last duty assignment was listed as the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California.
Task & Purpose was unable to reach Kolakowski or Perry for comment on Tuesday.
Investigators have not determined what Gille’s motive for the attack may have been, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Gille has a history of “prior assaultive incidents as well as controlled substance violations,” the news release says.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel thanked the “good Samaritans” along with local law enforcement officers and others who responded to the attack, posting on X that their “quick action undoubtedly saved lives.”
On Tuesday, Perry issued a statement through the sheriff’s office describing himself as “a proud citizen of Traverse City.”
“I just wanted to do right by my community and help where there was a problem,” Perry said in the statement. “I am just like any other member of the community. I wasn’t looking to be heroic. I just wanted to help my neighbors. I can’t take all the credit as there were other courageous individuals who were also standing up to the attacker too. I appreciate the outpouring of thanks and love from the public.”
