Image Credit: UCG / Contributor / Getty Images 
A man who went on a stabbing rampage at a Walmart store in Michigan will now face a terrorism charge, authorities announced on Sunday.
Bradford James Gille, 42, of Afton, Michigan, will also face 11 charges of assault with intent to murder for his rampage on Saturday.
Although officials say the motive for the attack remains unclear, Gille will be charged with terrorism.
Such a charge is customary for a mass attack of this kind because it aims to create fear and bring harm to the wider community, Noelle R. Moeggenberg, the prosecuting attorney for Grand Traverse County, explained.
If convicted, Gille will face life in prison.
Gille entered the Walmart Store on Saturday at 4.10pm, armed with a 3.5 inch folding knife. He remained there for half an hour until the attack began, at 4.45pm, in the store’s checkout area.
Multiple citizens, including one armed with a pistol, confronted Gille in the parking lot and prevented him from harming more people or leaving.
On Sunday afternoon, two victims remained in critical condition in hospital.
The mass stabbing comes barely a month after a gunman stormed a community church in Wayne, Michigan. He injured a security guard before being killed by two members of the congregation.
“A parishioner struck the gunman with his vehicle as the gunman shot the vehicle repeatedly,” police chief Ryan Strong told reporters on June 22.
“At least two staff members shot the gunman, causing the fatal wounds.”
