Man allegedly tries to open plane door, stab flight attendant mid-flight
A man, 33, from Massachusetts was tackled by passengers and flight crew after he, allegedly, attempted to stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon and tried to open a plane’s emergency door while flying from Los Angeles to Boston.
Francisco Severo Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport when the plane landed on Sunday.
A passenger, Lisa Olsen, recorded and spoke to local media about the altercation she witnessed.
“He was talking about Nazis and raping women,” Olsen told NBC 10. “I have my 17-year-old daughter next to me. She was crying. She was very upset. She wouldn't even let me touch her. She thought we were going to crash.”
According to federal prosecutors, the flight was 45 minutes from landing when the flight crew noticed a side door was disarmed and one of the crew believed Torres was responsible after seeing him next to the door.
He then proceeded to ask if there were any cameras that showed him tampering with the door. The crew told the captain they believed Torres may be a threat and the plane needed to be landed as quickly as possible.
The video Oslen recorded showed him arguing with the passengers near him and calling out to Homeland Security.
“Tell them to bring SWAT to shoot me down because they're gonna have to shoot me down today,” said Torres. “Where are they diverting us because wherever it is, it's gonna be a bloodbath.”
“Where's Homeland Security with the gun because I'm waiting for them to point the gun at me so that I can show everybody that I won't die when I take every bullet in that clip to wherever in my body, they shoot it and then I will kill every man on this plane,” he said.
Torres then is seen thrusting towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant three times on the neck, according to allegations.
The video then shows a group of male passengers confronting him at the front of the plane and placing him in zip ties before taking turns restraining Torres until the flight landed.
Torres is currently facing one count of interference and attempted interference using a dangerous weapon. With these charges come a potential sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to local media.
