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Police Officer Stabbed at Airport in Michigan Police Officer Stabbed at Michigan Airport in ‘Act of Terrorism’
(about 2 hours later)
A transit police officer was stabbed in the neck and back Wednesday morning at an airport in Flint, Mich., the authorities said. A 50-year-old Canadian man stabbed a transit police officer in the neck and back on Wednesday morning at an airport in Flint, Mich., in what the authorities called an “act of terrorism.”
A federal law enforcement official said the F.B.I was investigating whether the attack, at Bishop International Airport, was an act of terrorism. The officer, Lt. Jeff Neville, was in stable condition. A suspect was taken into custody at the airport and was being questioned. The officer, Lt. Jeff Neville, was in satisfactory condition on Wednesday evening, an official said.
Local news reports said that witnesses claimed to have heard the attacker shout “Allahu akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) before stabbing the officer. The F.B.I. said in a statement that the motive for the stabbing was unclear and that it was “aware of reports that the attacker made statements” before stabbing the officer. The suspect, who was taken into custody at the airport and questioned, was later identified as Amor Ftouhi, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s special agent in charge, David Gelios, said at a news conference. Mr. Ftouhi was charged with violence at an international airport.
“It is too early to determine the nature of these alleged statements or whether or not this was an act of terrorism,” the agency said. Mr. Gelios also confirmed that the man shouted “Allahu akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) before stabbing the officer with a 12-inch knife.
On Wednesday afternoon, the airport announced on Facebook that it was closed until further notice. “Suffice it to say, he has a hatred for the United States and a variety of other things that in part motivated him to come to the airport today and conduct this act of violence,” Special Agent Gelios said.
The authorities said that Mr. Ftouhi had legally entered the United States on Friday in New York.
Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, offered his thoughts and prayers to Lieutenant Neville on Twitter, and later thanked emergency medical workers at the airport.Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, offered his thoughts and prayers to Lieutenant Neville on Twitter, and later thanked emergency medical workers at the airport.
The airport is just minutes by car from the city center, and police officers were posted at City Hall as a precautionary measure after the stabbing, local reports said. The F.B.I. said that the attack was believed to be an isolated incident and that it had no “specific, credible information” of a threat to the Flint community.The airport is just minutes by car from the city center, and police officers were posted at City Hall as a precautionary measure after the stabbing, local reports said. The F.B.I. said that the attack was believed to be an isolated incident and that it had no “specific, credible information” of a threat to the Flint community.