[Ma'an] Police in the United States have a Palestinian citizen of Israel in custody in connection with a string of stabbings that left as many as five dead, The Detroit Free Press newspaper reported Thursday.
US officials suspect Elias Abuelazam, 33, is responsible for stabbing attacks across three states that left some 20 people injured.
The suspect was arrested Wednesday evening at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while boarding a Delta Airlines flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, airport and airline officials told the newspaper.
Abuelazam, identified late Thursday in the Israeli media as an Israeli national from Ramle, was arrested after "one of the tips developed into a strong investigative lead," a US police spokesman said.
A Michigan prosecutor told The Associated Press that a knife and hammer were discovered in a vehicle driven by the suspect, who is being held in custody on assault charges related to a 27 July stabbing.
Arab-American community 'shocked'
Mona Sahouri, executive director for the American Arab Heritage Council in Flint, where some 15 people were stabbed, said news about Abuelazam's arrest spread quickly among American Arabs.
"Our community is pretty tight knit," she told the Flint Journal. "This is the first time I've heard of his name."
"Our community is extremely shocked and upset and extends deep condolences to the families of the victims of these horrible crimes," she added, saying the Arab community "strongly condemns" such actions.
Abuelazam "is not representative of the Arab American community here," she added. 
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