Last week, FBI Detroit Special Agent Mara Schneider told the Detroit Free Press that the FBI helped Hamtramck police in identifying and locating the person accused of making threats against Mayor Amer Ghalib and other City Council members.

Ghalib said that he and some City Council members received death threats from a man in Canada who was arrested a few days later in connection with a homicide in Vancouver.

Ghalib said that during the last week of January, he received via Facebook threats from a man named Dwight William Kematch, who wrote that he was going to kill Ghalib by shooting him at the next City Council meeting, set for Jan. 29. Some members of Hamtramck City Council received similar threats, he said.

“He specified the time and place, during City Council meetings, so I took it seriously and I reported it to the police,” Ghalib told Niraj Warikoo of the Free Press. “I have been receiving many threats, but never took any of them as serious. He sent his threat to me through Facebook, then he immediately blocked me. That was another alarming and warning sign that made me act and report it to the police.”

Three days after the threats, police in Vancouver arrested Kematch, 39, on Jan. 28 and later charged him with second-degree murder in the homicide of Alexander Lo, 31 of Vancouver. Media outlets in Canada said it was the first homicide of the year in Vancouver.

In a press release issued by the Vancouver police there was no mention of threats against Hamtramck’s officials. But, Ghalib said FBI agents told him on Feb. 21 that the Vancouver police in Canada had arrested Kematch in connection with the killing of Lo.

“Police coordinated with the FBI and the Canadian authorities and the guy was arrested,” Ghalib said. “Unfortunately, he killed someone three days after sending his threat to me, and he was arrested after that. Our police and the FBI agents kept updating me on how are they handling this case. I do thank them and the Canadian authorities for everything they did to bring that suspect to justice.”