A Massachusetts man is in custody after allegedly stabbing a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon three times during a flight from Los Angeles to Boston on Monday. The stabbing followed an attempt to open the emergency door of the airplane, the Justice Department said.
On Monday, Francisco Severo Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport and charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. Torres, who is 33 years old, will remain in detention until his hearing on Thursday.
According to the Justice Department, while on a United Airlines plane from Los Angeles to Boston, the flight crew noticed an alarm indicating that a door in the plane had been disarmed. Upon inspection, a flight attendant observed that the locking handle of the door had been pushed out of its fully locked position and that an emergency slide arming lever had been disarmed.
According to the department, a flight attendant who had seen Torres near the door approached him to discuss the issue. Torres allegedly asked if cameras could prove he had tampered with the door.
“According to court documents, the flight attendant then notified the captain that they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft and that the captain needed to land the aircraft as soon as possible,” the Justice Department shared.
Shortly after, Torres allegedly got out of his seat, mouthing something, before thrusting “towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck area three times,” the Justice Department said.
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After being tackled by fellow passengers during the flight, Torres was promptly apprehended upon landing.
United Airlines says it has banned Torres from flying on future flights following this incident, CNN reports.
“Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on United flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston,” United said in a statement.