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Amor Ftouhi: Suspect Who Yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ During Flint Airport Stabbing May Have Planned Larger Attack

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 14:28 PST, Jun 21, 2017

Amor Ftouhi allegedly stabbed a police officer in the neck during an attack at the Flint Bishop Airport in what appears to be an act of terrorism, and now evidence suggests that the 50-year-old Canadian man may have been planning a much larger attack.

The attack took place on Wednesday morning, with witnesses saying Ftouhi shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he allegedly launched his attack. He is accused of stabbing police officer Jeff Neville, who survived the wound to his neck and was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery. He was listed in stable condition.

Amor Ftouhi was arrested and charged with violence at an international airport, Global News reported. There may be evidence that Ftouhi wanted to launch a larger attack. As the report noted, the alleged attacker had tried to purchase a gun after entering the United States but was denied.

During the attack, Amor Ftouhi made reference to the United States killing civilians in the Middle East and allegedly made threats to kill more people.

“He further exclaimed something similar to, ‘you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die,'” FBI agent Thomas Sondgeroth wrote in a criminal report of the stabbing.

Police have not yet discussed a motive for the attack, which was described in many reports as an act of terrorism. They said there were no immediate links between Ftouhi and terrorist groups, however, and it appeared that he was acting on his own.

While many details of Amor Ftouhi’s background had not yet been revealed, authorities said he is originally from Tunisia and had entered the United States in Lake Champlain, New York, on Friday. From there he made his way to Flint, MLive reported, though it was not clear why he came to Flint.

Authorities said Ftouhi entered Flint’s Bishop Airport just before 9 a.m. on Wednesday with two bags, then traveled up an escalator and spent 20 minutes at a restaurant. He then entered a bathroom where he dropped off the bags, and allegedly attacked Neville after leaving the bathroom.

It was not clear if suspect Amor Ftouhi had planned on killing more people with the Flint Bishop Airport attack or if it could have been an attempt at drawing the police officer to kill him. During the attack, Ftouhi reportedly asked the police officer why he didn’t kill him.

[Featured Image by Amor Ftouhi/Facebook]

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