The FBI is trying to find why a 49-year-old father of three stabbed a uniformed police officer at an airport in Michigan.
Amor M. Ftouhi stabbed an officer in the neck with a hunting knife at 9:40 a.m. on June 21. He was heard screaming “Allah Akbar.”
Terrorism is being looked at as a potential motive. The suspect was heard saying “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die,” according to the FBI.
“We continue to have no information to suggest Ftouhi’s attack on Lt. Neville was part of a wider plot, nor do we have any indication that he was aided in this incident or had associates associated to this incident,” said David Gelios, FBI special agent in charge in Detroit.
Ftouhi unsuccessfully attempted to buy a gun but was only able to obtain a knife. He is considered a lone wolf attacker, though the ongoing investigation will look to confirm this and to clarify the motive.
Ftouhi, originally from Tunisia, lived in Canada with his wife and three children. According to The Detroit News, a neighbor is quoted as describing him as “Strict, quiet. He walked with his head down.”
He apparently only crossed the border into the United States to carry out the attack in the undistinguished location of Flint, Michigan.
After stabbing the officer he was subdued and brought into custody. An FBI agent remembers Ftouhi asking why he was not killed.
