Montreal suspect in Michigan airport stabbing had tried to buy a gun, FBI says

A 49-year-old Montreal resident, suspected of stabbing a police officer at a Michigan airport, tried and failed to buy a gun before purchasing the knife allegedly used in the attack, the FBI said Thursday.

Investigators are still trying to determine why Amor Ftouhi travelled from his home in Montreal to Flint, a struggling city in the American rustbelt more than 1,000 kilometres away, where the attack occurred.

Dave Gelios, the lead FBI investigator in the case, told a news conference there is still no evidence Ftouhi has ties to any organization.

"I can say that the knife was purchased in the United States, somewhere along his trip from New York," Gelios said. 

"The reason I give that information — I think it's a good news story that we have an individual who attempted to buy a gun in the United States and was unsuccessful."

Truck driver, father of 3

Ftouhi is a dual Canadian-Tunisian citizen, who lives in an apartment in Montreal's St-Michel neighbourhood. Neighbours described him as a "good person" who tended to keep to himself.

He held jobs at a grocery store and trained to become a security guard before working as a truck driver in recent years, according to a copy of his resumé obtained by CBC News.

He has no prior criminal record and, according to his CV, had obtained a FAST pass, a special permit used by truckers to speed up crossing the U.S.-Canada border.

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The FBI maintains Ftouhi crossed into the United States at Champlain, N.Y., on June 16, and appears to have arrived in Michigan two days later. His car was found in the parking lot of Bishop International Airport.

Ftouhi was taken into custody almost immediately after the Wednesday morning attack. He was charged with committing violence at an airport.

The suspect appeared in federal court in Flint on Thursday to hear the charge and will get a court-appointed attorney. A bond hearing was scheduled for next Wednesday. He could face additional charges.

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Ftouhi told court officials that he has lived in Canada for a decade and has three children.

"He said he was working off and on as a truck driver. Last worked about two weeks ago," Linsey Carson, a court pretrial services officer, told a judge. "He indicated no mental or physical health problems and no drug or alcohol use."

The officer who was stabbed at the airport, Lt. Jeff Neville, is recovering in a local hospital. Officials said Thursday he is "doing well."

'Atypical' profile

Ftouhi's Facebook page, which hasn't been updated since 2016, shed little light on his views.

The only posts in the past few years were two YouTube videos in Arabic — one about methods of memorizing the Qur'an and another about how to stop somebody from swallowing their tongue.

"The profile is a bit atypical," said David Morin, a professor at Sherbrooke University and co-director of the Observatory on Radicalization and Violent Extremism, adding that Ftouhi had apparently passed "completely under the radar" of law enforcement.

"The fact that he was awarded this [FAST pass] card, if indeed it is proven, would tend to show that no, in terms of risk assessment, the gentleman presented no particular danger."