Eleven people were stabbed at a Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday — with six in critical condition — in what a Michigan sheriff said appeared to be a random act. A suspect was in custody, authorities said.

Around 4:45 p.m., a 42-year-old man entered the store and used a folding knife to stab 11 people, the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media. A sheriff’s deputy arrived within minutes and took the man into custody, and people in the store also helped apprehend the suspect and treat victims, the sheriff’s office said.

The victims’ ages weren’t immediately released.

“Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more,” Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters.

Emergency vehicles and uniformed first responders gathered in the parking lot of the shopping center that houses several other retail stores. Authorities also were seen interviewing employees, still wearing blue uniform vests and name tags, nearby as the response gave way to an investigation.

Tiffany DeFell, 36, who lives in Honor, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Traverse City, said she was in the store’s parking lot when she saw chaos erupt around her.

“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies. It’s not what you expect to see where you’re living.”

Munson Healthcare said via social media that 11 people were being treated at the region’s largest hospital in northern Michigan. Spokesperson Megan Brown said all were stabbing victims. Six people were critical and five were in serious condition late Saturday, she said.