RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The mother of the man accused of stabbing 11 people at the Walmart in Traverse City said her son needs help for the mental illness that drove him to the kind of violence she didn't think he was capable of.

Beverly Gille said the mental health system failed her son and society.

"Brad was scared," she told News 8 on Thursday. "I can guarantee you he was scared. That's not Brad. That is somebody else. That's not my son. He's very, very ill."

Her son, Bradford Gille, 42, is in the Grand Traverse County Jail on charges of attempted murder and terrorism.

Gille said she barely recognized the man she saw on the TV news the day after the July 26 stabbings — her son, accused of the rampage that sent 11 people to the hospital.

Her son Brad's childhood photo is

See Full Page