Lone Wolf Terror Attack in Michigan is 96th US Plot Since 9/11
David Inserra / Riley Walters /
Earlier this week, Amor M. Ftouhi, a Canadian-Tunisian dual citizen attacked a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan.
This is the 96th Islamist terror plot or attack against the U.S. homeland since 9/11.
Ftouhi, who has lived in Montreal for the past 10 years with his wife and three children, reportedly entered the U.S. legally on June 16 near Lake Champlain, New York. By June 21, he had made his way to Bishop International airport in Flint Michigan.
Once at the airport, he walked around for almost an hour before approaching a police officer, yelling “Allahu Akbar” and stabbing the police officer in the neck. The FBI report says he continued to shout and said something to the effect of, “You have killed people in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and we are all going to die.”
Thankfully, he was quickly subdued by another nearby police officer and bystanders. The wounded officer was rushed to surgery and is now listed in satisfactory condition.
Further investigation by U.S. and Canadian authorities is under way to determine various details, such as why Ftouhi chose the Flint airport, whether others helped him or knew about his plot, what the timeline of his plotting was, etc.
That said, there is enough detail to conclude that this was an Islamist attack against the U.S.
This attack is the third plot of 2017 and the 15th successful attack since 9/11. It is also the ninth terror attack against law enforcement and the seventh against commercial aviation.
It’s also the first plot since early 2013 that was not committed by homegrown terrorists. The 2013 plot, #60 on The Heritage Foundation’s timeline, was planned by a Tunisian and Palestinian living in Canada who intended to attack a train between Toronto and New York City.
The Flint attack is the 12th U.S. plot that did not involve a homegrown element. Eighty-four other plots had a homegrown element.
The U.S. must remain vigilant as the threat of terrorism remains real. Followers of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other Islamist organizations are looking to do harm to the U.S., and we must make sure that our intelligence organizations have the critical tools they need to detect and stop terrorists before they strike.
This attack is also a reminder that we need to closely collaborate with our international partners in the fight against Islamist terror.