Man from Montreal arrested after knife attack at a Michigan airport
Print Edition
A CANADIAN from Tunisia shouted in Arabic before stabbing a police officer in the neck at a Michigan airport, and referenced people being killed overseas during an attack that’s being investigated as an act of terrorism, federal and court officials said.
Amor Ftouhi, 49, of Montreal, was immediately taken into custody. A criminal complaint charging him with committing violence at an airport says Ftouhi asked an officer who subdued him why the officer didn’t kill him.
Wednesday’s attack at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, is being investigated as an act of terrorism, but authorities have no indication the suspect was involved in a “wider plot,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Gelios.
“At this time we view him as a lone-wolf attacker,” Gelios said. “We have no information to suggest any training.”
The criminal complaint says Ftouhi stabbed airport police officer Jeff Neville with a knife after yelling “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” According to the FBI, Ftouhi said something similar to “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.”
The Flint Journal, citing court officials, said Ftouhi is a dual citizen of Canada and Tunisia.
Neville was in satisfactory condition after initially being critical, airport police chief Chris Miller told a news conference where the charge against Ftouhi was announced.
Ftouhi appeared in federal court in Flint to hear the charge and will get a court-appointed attorney. A court spokesman says Ftouhi will remain in custody until a bond hearing next Wednesday.
The attack had occurred just before 10am, prompting officials to evacuate and shut down the airport and add security elsewhere in the city about 80 kilometers northwest of Detroit.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said President Donald Trump was briefed on the stabbing, and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he was “proud of the swift response” by authorities from both the US and Canada.
Police in Canada were searching a Montreal apartment at the request of the FBI, said a spokesman. Three people staying at the residence had been taken in for questioning.
Luciano Piazza, the landlord, said Ftouhi, a married man with children, was not a difficult tenant.
“I never had any problems with him,” Piazza said. “I’m really surprised. I would see him at least once a month, when he paid his rent.”
Gelios said Ftouhi legally entered the US at Champlain, New York, on June 16 and made his way to the Flint airport on Wednesday morning.
He spent some time in unsecured areas of the airport and then went to a restroom where he dropped two bags before attacking the officer with a large knife that had a serrated blade, Gelios said.
Ftouhi never went through any security screening, Gelios said. He described Ftouhi as “cooperative” and talking to investigators.
Witnesses described seeing the suspect being led away as Neville was bleeding, a knife on the ground.
“The cop was on his hands and knees bleeding from his neck,” Ken Brown told The Flint Journal. “I said they need to get him a towel.”
Cherie Carpenter, who was waiting for a flight to Texas to see her new grandchild, told Flint TV station WJRT she saw the attacker being led away in handcuffs. She described the man in custody as appearing “blank, just totally blank.”
Neville is said to have “fought him to the end,” managing to stop the stabbing and bring Ftouhi to the ground as other officers arrived to help.
After the stabbing, police officers were stationed at Flint City Hall a few miles away. Mayor Karen Weaver said the situation was “under control” but that officials sought to take “extra precautions.”
Genesee County Commissioner Mark Young, a friend of Neville’s who retired from the county sheriff’s office in 1997, said Neville left that department two years after him. He said Neville served in various capacities with the sheriff’s office including in the jail, on road patrol and as a court officer.
Neville retired from the sheriff’s office as a lieutenant.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
