Man Arrested For Attempted Murder Of Flight Attendant

A man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon three times during a flight from Los Angeles to Boston on Monday, after attempting to open an emergency exit door.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, faces one charge of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.

Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport Monday and will remain detained pending a hearing set for Thursday.

According to the Justice Department, during a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston, the flight crew saw an alarm that a door in the plane had been disarmed and, after inspection, a flight attendant saw the door’s locking handle had been pushed out of the fully locked position and an emergency slide arming lever had been disarmed.

A flight attendant who saw Torres near the door went to talk to Torres about the door, according to the department, who asked if there were cameras showing he had tampered with the door.

The Justice Department said, “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.”

Soon 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 department said.

Torres was then tackled by other passengers on the flight and was immediately taken into custody after the flight landed.

According to a criminal complaint, Torres told investigators he broke a spoon in half a bathroom on the airplane to use as a weapon. He also told law enforcement that he tried to open the emergency door and “had gotten the idea” to jump out of the plane, according to the complaint.

Torres also told investigators he was trying to defend himself and tried to stab the flight attendant because he believed they were trying to kill him.