People at Michigan’s Bishop International Airport witnessed an act of terrorism when a Canadian citizen stabbed a police officer who yelled “Allahu Akbar”
The suspect identified as 50-year-old Amor Ftouhi has been charged with violence at an international airport, acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch said in a statement.
The suspect stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville with a roughly 12-inch knife with an 8-inch serrated blade on Wednesday morning.
Ftouhi had his initial court appearance on late Wednesday afternoon and will remain in police custody pending a full detention hearing next week.
FBI agent David P. Gelios said that the suspect entered the international airport in Flint at around 9:45 AM and went to a public restroom before dropping both of his bags, armed with a knife and yelling “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is Great,” before stabbing Officer in the neck.
A criminal complaint said that the suspect was not an airline passenger and was wandering at the airport for about 40 minutes.
After stabbing the officer with an 8-inch serrated blade, Ftouhi yelled “Allah” several times.
The suspect reportedly also said something similar to “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die” as he was being taken into custody.
The suspect could face a maximum term of 20 years in prison and more charges could be added, officials said.
Officer Neville, was in satisfactory condition said Chief Neville, who was stabbed in the main terminal, was in satisfactory condition, said Chief Chris Miller of the Bishop Airport Safety Division. Neville had worked at the airport for years and rose to the rank of lieutenant in 2006, according to airport director Craig Williams.
"Lt. Neville got him to stop stabbing him," said Miller, who was nearby during the attack. "Lt. Neville fought him right to the end, right until I was able to handcuff this person."
While subduing the suspect, an airport maintenance worker was injured. The worker was taken to a hospital with arm injuries and was later released.
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