Montreal police on June 21, 2017, guard the front of the building where Amor Ftouhi, who is suspected of stabbing a Michigan airport police officer, lived before traveling to the U.S. earlier this month. (Julien Besset/AFP/Getty Images)
A police officer was stabbed Wednesday at the Flint, Mich., international airport, and the FBI says it is investigating the incident as a possible act of terrorism because of statements the suspect reportedly made before attacking the officer.
The assailant in the Wednesday-morning attack that prompted an evacuation and shutdown of Bishop International Airport has been identified by authorities as 49-year-old Amor M. Ftouhi of Quebec. NPR reports that he allegedly stabbed a uniformed police officer in the neck.
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The officer, identified as Lt. Jeff Neville of the Bishop Airport Authority, was in satisfactory condition as of late afternoon Wednesday. Ftouhi reportedly referenced killings in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and yelled “Allahu akbar,” which means “God is great” in Arabic, before attacking Neville.
Ftouhi has been charged with committing an act of violence at an airport, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
According to sources cited by the Washington Post, Ftouhi entered the United States from Canada on June 16 in New York before arriving in Flint.
NPR reports that the White House said Wednesday that Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert briefed President Donald Trump on the stabbing.
