FBI says probing Michigan airport stabbing as 'act of terrorism'

By Ben Klayman and Christinne Muschi

 

FBI Special Agent in Charge David Gelios said federal authorities were investigating the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, as an 'act of terrorism'. Authorities identified the assailant as Amor Ftouhi from Canada and said that before he stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville in the neck, he yelled out 'Allahu Akbar'.

 

DETROIT/MONTREAL (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday it was investigating as an act of terrorism the stabbing of a police officer inside the main terminal of a small airport in Flint, Michigan.

 

"I will tell you that we are investigating this incident today that happened at about 9:45 this morning as an act of terrorism," David Gelios, special agent in charge of the Detroit division of the FBI, told reporters outside Bishop International Airport.

 

The U.S. Department of Justice identified the suspect as Amor M. Ftouhi, 49, of Quebec, Canada. Ftouhi legally entered the United States from Lake Champlain, New York, on June 16 before making his way to Flint, Gelios said.

 

According to a criminal complaint, Ftouhi yelled in Arabic "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) before stabbing Lieutenant Jeff Neville of the airport's Department of Public Safety.

 

Neville was in satisfactory condition after undergoing surgery and expected to fully recover, police said.

 

"When the subject went up to the officer and stabbed him, he continued to exclaim 'Allah' and made a statement, something to the effect of 'You have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and we are all going to die," Gelios said.

 

Ftouhi has been charged with violence at an international airport, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

 

Gelios said other charges could be lodged against Ftouhi.

 

U.S. officials, who have questioned Ftouhi, currently believe he acted alone and was not part of a larger plot, Gelios said.

"Suffice it to say, he has a hatred for the United States," Gelios said of Ftouhi.

 

Gelios described the weapon as a 12-inch knife with an 8-inch serrated blade. Ftouhi was a "lone wolf attacker," he said.

 

It took four people to subdue Ftouhi, including the officer he stabbed and a nearby maintenance worker, said Chris Miller, the airport's director of public safety. Miller and another officer also assisted.

 

According to the criminal complaint, after he was subdued Ftouhi asked why he had not been killed.

 

The airport was evacuated and there were no other injuries. It reopened on Wednesday evening.

 

A small regional airport, it has, on average, 16 commercial flights arriving or departing each day, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service.

 

Officials in the United States and Canada condemned the attack and said that agencies in both countries would work together to investigate the incident.

 

"Any attack on someone who serves and protects our citizens will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement, adding that he had spoken with FBI officials about the attack.

 

Canada's Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale called the attack "heinous and cowardly."

 

"We will do everything we possibly can to assist in this matter," Goodale told reporters.

 

Police in Montreal went to an apartment building in the city’s Saint Michel area on Wednesday in connection with the stabbing, according to Radio-Canada, the French-language arm of Canada’s public broadcaster.

 

Radio-Canada reported that police questioned three people but did not search the apartment.

 

Police were guarding the entrance and rear doorway of the four-story building in Saint Michel, a lower income neighbourhood with a large immigrant population, according to a Reuters eyewitness. A small crowd had gathered across the street.

 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police did not immediately return Reuters requests for comment.

 

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York, Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago, Erich Beech in Washington and Anna Mehler Paperny and Amran Abocar in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Toni Reinhold)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-22

Another a-hole caught.

"According to the criminal complaint, after he was subdued Ftouhi asked why he had not been killed"

Good question! By the way, me too I ask the same one 

The a*s*h*l* and family members, if any, should be deported to some country where he will have nothing but admiration for his peers. Bring back symbiotic events !

Trudeau can have him.

This Tunesian, who immigrated to Canada, got a passport, then goes to the USA to try kill an American.  Sounds like a Muslim man to me.  I would be so happy if these people would tear up their Canadian Passports before doing these crimes. Canada may be a country of many cultures, but we do not need our reputation affected in this way.  It is my opinion that if the Muslim people want to go killing all of us Infidels, they should only pack their Muslim country ID when they   commit murder or fight for Allah. To say this guy is a Canadian just does not tell this story in the most truthful manner.

Geezer

Sadly, just another attack that will soon be forgotten.

14 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

"According to the criminal complaint, after he was subdued Ftouhi asked why he had not been killed"

Good question! By the way, me too I ask the same one 

and the answer to him is, Because we are better than you

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

and the answer to him is, Because we are better than you

Good answer I reckon!