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FBI says Flint airport stabbing suspect tried to buy gun

Posted at 4:29 PM, Jun 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-22 16:31:28-04

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The FBI says a Canadian man accused of stabbing a police officer at the Flint, Michigan, airport tried unsuccessfully to buy a gun while in the United States for five days.

David Gelios, head of the FBI in Detroit, made the disclosure Thursday during a news conference. He did not elaborate.

Acting U.S. Attorney Dan Lemisch says more charges are coming in the days ahead.  Amor Ftouhi is in custody until a bond hearing Wednesday.

Ftouhi managed to purchase a knife. He is a dual citizen of Canada and Tunisia. He’s accused of stabbing airport police Lt. Jeff Neville after yelling “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great.”

According to the FBI, Ftouhi said something similar to “you have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.”