2024-02-23 02:44:08
A man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a passenger with a homemade weapon made of pens and rubber bands during an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Las Vegas.
The man, who was identified as Julio Alvarez Lopez, was detained in Nevada and is facing a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.
The airline confirmed in a statement that the incident occurred aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 604 on Jan. 24 as the plane was descending at Harry Reid International Airport, in Las Vegas.
“The aircraft landed safely, and law enforcement took one passenger into custody following the plane arrived at the gate. We’re thankful for our crew for their professionalism in the handling of the incident,” the airline added.
According to federal court documents, a witness interviewed by the FBI said that Lopez was “fidgety” during the flight and following returning from the bathroom, he began to punch and stab another passenger who was sitting across the aisle with his wife and 7-year-old son.
The witness said “there was blood everywhere” and that the suspect dropped something that looked like a “pen and tape bundle.”
Flight attendants managed to restrain the suspect for the rest of the flight, which landed around 8:37 a.m. The suspect was then taken into custody by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
According to the affidavit, Lopez told authorities that he “felt the Mafia had been chasing him the last few months.” He acknowledged that he had never seen the victim but “planned on killing him” because Lopez believed he was in the cartel and following him.
“I planned on attacking and killing him,” Lopez said, according to the the affidavit, adding that he was trying to stab him in the eye to reach his brain.
He told authorities he made the weapon using pens and rubber bands just before the flight.
The victim, who was only identified as “C.R.” in court documents, suffered non life-threatening injuries in one of his eyes. The victim’s wife was reportedly also struck during the altercation as she tried to shield their son.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the incident.
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