Armed Citizen Who Held Stabbing Suspect for Police Named 'Responsible Gun Owner of the Year'

Derrick Perry, the armed citizen who helped to prevent the suspect in a mass stabbing at a Traverse City, Michigan Walmart from continuing to carry out his attack has received a lot of praise for his quick thinking and actions since he drew his firearm on July 26. He's even been awarded free BBQ for life from a local restaurant who wanted to say thanks to Perry. 

Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners is also recognizing Perry, naming him their Responsible Gun Owner of the Year for 2025. Board member Steve Dulan, who's also a professor at Cooley Law School specializing in Second Amendment issues, says that Perry's a natural fit for the award. 

Dulan said, “I don't think anybody is debating that he didn't save some lives that day. And that's exactly why people who carry choose to carry. This is a real-life example of a gun owner that we are all proud of because he did exactly what we're all trained to do.”

He added, “What we hope is that the criminals are getting the message that just because they don't see uniformed officers around doesn't mean they can do whatever they want to.”

And of course, the more folks who are lawfully exercising their right to bear arms, the greater the odds that a violent criminal will be met with an armed response; either by one of their intended victims or a passerby who steps in to protect the lives of others. 

I'm glad to see that Perry's heroism is being acknowledged by MCRGO and others, but I'm also heartened by the fact that Perry's actions are leading to a larger discussion about the right to carry.  

Roy's General Store in Traverse City, for example offered free coffee and soda to concealed carry licensees for a week after Perry's defensive gun use was first reported, which the company said was "a thank-you for being prepared". A Traverse City gun store, meanwhile, says they saw a surge in customers in the days after the attack at the local Walmart. 

Customers are coming in and asking how to get their concealed pistol license. Classes that used to take weeks to fill up are filling up in a matter of hours. 

"I would say probably a surge of 25 people or more just in the last 72 hours since the incident occurred," TCH Gear Owner Gary Jurkovich said.

Jurkovich said he didn't plan on opening his store Sunday.

His business, TCH Gear, is in the process of expanding, and only staff were expected to be there Sunday to help move inventory around.

"And as soon as the buzzer rang and the door opened, the traffic just started pouring in," Jurkovich said. "We obviously didn't want to turn those people away. Come to find out as we're talking to them it has all do with the incident that occurred at Walmart.”

Jurkovich said it was a 50-50 mix of customers who already have a concealed pistol license wanting to buy a firearm, and people who said they've been on the fence about taking a CPL class. 

“I think people just want to be safe, right? We all want to live in this world, and all want to be safe, and I think that incident opened up that that can happen in Traverse City,” Jurkovich said.

Unfortunately, violence can (and does) take place anywhere. That's why it's so important for us to be able to protect ourselves in as many places as possible. A "no guns allowed" sign isn't going to stop someone from carrying out an attack, but it will undoubtably deter some folks from carrying a firearm in self-defense. 

Derrick Perry is just the latest example of an armed citizen who stepped to protect the lives of others. The next person to do that in Traverse City may have recently walked through Jurkovich's doors to sign up for a concealed carry class, or maybe they've already been carrying for years. 

Thankfully, the vast majority of us will never experience a threat to ourselves or others that would warrant pulling our gun from its holster, much less pulling the trigger in self-defense. We're not the ones who get to decide if we're ever in a situation like that, however. Our only choice is how we'll respond, and the more of us who are prepared like Derrick Perry was, the better off we all are. 

Editor’s Note: Bearing Arms reports armed citizen stories every day on the Bearing Arms' Cam & Co podcast. 

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