La Presse is reporting police have detained a Canadian suspect in connection with the Wednesday morning stabbing of an American police officer at an airport in Flint, Mich.Police officials say the FBI is looking at terrorism as a possible motive in the attack at Bishop International Airport.Citing anonymous sources, La Presse reported that the alleged attacker is a Quebec resident, living in Montreal. Witnesses said the attacker yelled out “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great,” as the stabbing occurred.A statement from the FBI said the stabbed officer, identified by state police as Lt. Jeff Neville, is currently in stable condition. The suspect is in custody and is being questioned by investigators.“We are aware of reports that the attacker made statements immediately prior to or while attacking the officer, but it is too early to determine the nature of these alleged statements or whether or not this was an act of terrorism,” the FBI statement said.Witness Cherie Carpenter told Flint TV station WJRT she saw the attacker’s face Wednesday morning at Bishop International Airport. Carpenter described the man in custody as appearing “blank, just totally blank.”She was awaiting a flight to Texas to see her new grandchild.Bishop International Airport posted on Facebook that passengers were safe and were being told to check for flight delays or cancellations.Ken Brown told The Flint Journal he was dropping off his daughter at the airport and saw the officer bleeding from his neck. He says he saw a man detained by police and a knife on the ground.“The cop was on his hands and knees bleeding from his neck,” Brown said. “I said they need to get him a towel.”Airport and police officials didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.Flint is about 80 kilometres northwest of Detroit. With files from Allan Woods
|