The FBI has arrested a Canadian man in connection with a Wednesday morning knife attack in Flint, Mich., that U.S. officials are investigating as a terrorist act.
The FBI has charged 50-year-old Canadian Amor Ftouhi of Quebec with causing violence at an international airport, FBI special agent David Gelios according to a statement released by the United States Justice Department.
Here is the release from the U.S. Attorney on the arrest in the #Flint airport stabbing pic.twitter.com/nx1LicC06D
— Maryann Struman (@mastruman) June 21, 2017
The criminal complaint says Ftouhi stabbed airport police officer Lt. Jeff Neville with a large knife and declared “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” The FBI, which is leading the investigation, said Ftouhi said something similar to “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.”
The FBI added in the criminal complaint that Ftouhi asked an officer who subdued him why he didn’t kill him.
Gelios said that Ftouhi entered the U.S. at a New York border crossing on June 16 before arriving at Flint’s Bishop International Airport on Wednesday. Gelios added that the FBI has no information “to suggest a wider plot.”
La Presse, citing sources, said the attacker was a Montreal resident and that the RCMP and Montreal Police were leading an operation into the Canadian connection.
In a statement, the RCMP said it was aware of the incident.
“The investigation is being led by U.S. law enforcement authorities. As such, the RCMP will not provide further information. As with any incidents of this nature, the RCMP will work closely with key partners.”
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