Lt. Jeff Neville (Photo: Linked-In)
An officer for Bishop International Airport was stabbed Wednesday in what the FBI is now investigating as an act of terrorism in Flint, MI, sources told NBC News.
The attacker allegedly shouted "Allahu akbar" before stabbing Lieutenant Jeff Neville, who was bleeding from the neck, sources and witnesses at Bishop International Airport said.
Neville is a member of the airport's Department of Public Safety and a retired Genesee County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant.
Law enforcement officials said the suspect is from Quebec and has a Canadian passport.
FBI Special Agent in Charge David P. Gelios said at a news conference Amor Ftouhi, a 50-year-old Canadian citizen, entered Bishop International Airport in Flint around 9:45 a.m. and went to a restroom before dropping both of his bags, coming out with a knife and yelling "Allahu Akbar," the Arabic phrase for "God is great," before stabbing Officer Jeff Neville in the neck, reports Fox News.
Ftouhi said something similar to "you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die" as he was being arrested, according to Gelios. He also used a 12-inch knife with an 8-inch serrated blade, he added.
The Canadian citizen was motivated to come to the airport and conduct this act of violence out of a "hatred of the United States," according to Gelios. He legally entered the U.S. at Lake Champlain in New York on June 16, and then made his way to Flint, according to Gelios.
Federal prosecutors have charged Ftouhi with committing violence at an airport. The entire attack took place outside of the TSA screening area at the airport.
Flint Airport Director of Public Safety Christopher Miller said Neville is in "satisfactory condition," and "doing fine" after undergoing surgery. Miller said Neville "fought him 'til the end" until the suspect was able to be handcuffed.
The FBI said this is believed to be an isolated incident and that there was "nothing to suggest a wider plot."
