Michigan airport stabbing being investigated as terror attack, say police

Officials are investigating the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport as a potential terror attack.

Travellers were evacuated immediately after the attack, and facilities in Flint, Michigan, were placed under "heightened" security. A suspect was detained, and law enforcement officials said that he is a Canadian national.

Reports indicate that the officer was stabbed in the neck, and that his condition was elevated to "stable" from "critical".

The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack.

"The FBI, with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners, is jointly investigating this incident to determine the nature and motive for the attack. We are aware of reports that the attacker made statements immediately prior to or while attacking the officer, but it is too early to determine the nature of these alleged statements or whether or not this was an act of terrorism", the FBI said in a statement. "Based on the information that we have at this time, we believe this to be an isolated incident. We currently have no specific, credible information that there is a threat to the Flint community".

The airport wrote in an announcement on Facebook that all passengers were safe, and instructed people to check with their airlines for any potential cancellations or delays.

A witness told MLive that they had seen the police officer bleeding from the neck with a knife laying nearby before the terminal was evacuated. That witness also said that he saw a man being detained by police.

"The cop was on his hands and knees bleeding from his neck", Ken Brown, who was dropping his daughter off at the airport for a flight, told the news outlet. "I said they need to get him a towel".

The officer was later identified as Jeff Neville.

The attack reportedly occurred at 9:40 am local time.