June 21 (UPI) — An airport police officer in Flint, Mich., was stabbed Wednesday morning in an incident the FBI is treating as possibly terrorism-related.
The attacker stabbed Lt. Jeff Neville just after allegedly shouting “Allahu akbar,” which means “God is great” in Arabic, at Bishop International Airport in Flint, which is 68 miles north of Detroit., sources told NBC News. Law enforcement officials didn’t identify the suspect but said he is from Quebec and has a Canadian passport.
The suspect is in custody and being questioned.
The FBI told ABC News it is too early to determine whether the stabbing was an act of terrorism.
“We believe this to be an isolated incident,” the FBI said. “We currently have no specific, credible information that there is a threat to the Flint community.”
Neville, a member of the airport’s department of public safety and a retired Genesee County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant, was in critical condition when he underwent surgery at Hurley Medical Center for wounds to the neck, according to Michigan State Police in a posting on Twitter. Officials at 1 p.m. confirmed his condition stabilized.
Multiple witnesses told WJRT-TV that Neville was at his post at the top of the escalators at the airport when he was attacked from behind with a large knife.
The airport was evacuated about 9:40 a.m. and all travelers were safe, state police said. The FBI is leading the investigation.
Cherie Carpenter told Flint TV station WJRT the suspect had a husky build and a “blank” look on his face.
Witness Ken Brown said he was dropping off his daughter at the airport when he noticed the officer had been stabbed.
“The cop was on his hands and knees bleeding from his neck,” Brown told the Flint Journal. “I said they need to get him a towel.”
In a Twitter message, Gov. Rick Snyder asked state residents to “keep the attacked officer in your thoughts and prayers.”
Bishop International Airport’s lone passenger terminal opened in 1993. The airport had 388,000 passenger departures on 5,989 U.S. flights with 10 airlines for the 12 months ending in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It was ranked the 134th busiest airport in the United States.
