The Arabic man from Canada who is charged with stabbing a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint on Wednesday reportedly made his first stop in America at a warehouse facility in Macomb County that sells hundreds of guns.
Amor Ftouhi, 49, went gun shopping at the Gibraltar Trade Center in Mount Clemens shortly after arriving in the U.S. on Friday, FOX 2’s M.L. Elrick reports. He bought a knife after being refused a gun because of his Canadian citizenship.
The FBI has declined to comment on whether the 12-inch knife the attacker used to assault the airport officer was purchased at Gibraltar.
Representatives at Gibraltar told WXYZ-TV they cannot comment because the origin of the weapon is part of an active FBI investigation.
The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism but authorities say they do not believe Ftouhi’s actions had any connection to international terrorist groups.
FBI Special Agent in Charge David Gelios said: “At this time, we view him as a lone-wolf attacker. We have no information to suggest any training.”
According to news reports, Ftouhi shouted in Arabic — “Allahu akbar,” the phrase for “God is great — before stabbing the officer.
Ftouhi was immediately taken into custody. A criminal complaint charging him with the federal crime of committing violence at an airport says Ftouhi said something similar to “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.”
Maybe he should have stopped at Spranger’s office…she would have helped him out.