FBI: Attack on Michigan Officer Is Being Investigated as an Act of Terrorism

Authorities confirmed that the stabbing of a Michigan police officer is now being investigated as an act of terrorism.

On Wednesday morning, Lt. Jeff Neville was attacked at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan. The assailant reportedly stabbed the officer in the neck after shouting, "Allahu akbar," which translates to "God is great” in Arabic. According to the Detroit Free Press, the suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Canadian resident Amor Ftouhi.

"Ftouhi walked up to a fully uniformed police officer at a publicly accessible area of the airport, yelled 'Allahu Akbar,' pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer in the neck," FBI agent Thomas Sondgeroth wrote in a criminal complaint. "After stabbing the police officer, Ftouhi continued to yell 'Allah' several times."

The complaint also states Ftouhi made references to people being killed in the Middle East: "He further exclaimed something similar to, 'You have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.'"

Following the attack, Ftouhi was subdued by other officers and reportedly asked them why they didn't kill him. He was then charged with committing a violent act at an international airport, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He is now being questioned by authorities, who said it is too early to tell if this was, in fact, an act of terrorism.