Pictured, from left to right: The assault victim, identified in legal documents as “C.R.” and the improvised weapon crafted by Julio Alvarez Lopez (DOJ). In the background: An Alaska Airlines aircraft (Alaska Airlines/YouTube).
A man is now facing significant time in federal prison after using pens to create a makeshift weapon and attacking another airline passenger. He reportedly told authorities he aimed to stab the victim “in the eye to reach [his] brain and kill him.”
On Tuesday, Julio Alvarez Lopez admitted guilt to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, following his January 24, 2024, attack on an Alaska Airlines flight en route from Seattle to Las Vegas, as per official announcements.
The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Lopez attacked the victim by punching, hitting, and stabbing them numerous times with a homemade device constructed of “pens wrapped in rubber bands.”
The victim sustained stab wounds and injuries around the eye that necessitated stitches. Following the attack, Lopez proceeded to the front of the plane, where both crew members and passengers managed to subdue him for the rest of the flight.
The criminal complaint says the violence erupted about 30 minutes before the plane landed at Harry Reid International Airport. A passenger seated next to Lopez told investigators he appeared “fidgety” throughout the flight, repeatedly putting gloves on and taking them off, rummaging through his backpack, and avoiding eye contact.
After leaving and then briefly returning to his seat, Lopez went into the airplane restroom. When he came back, he immediately began punching the man seated across the aisle.
“There was blood everywhere,” a witness told investigators, according to the complaint.
The victim”s wife screamed and attempted to shield the couple’s 7-year-old son during the assault, according to court documents. She was also struck by Lopez.
Another passenger reported seeing the defendant drop what appeared to be several pens bundled together before walking up the aisle shouting, “I’ll only talk to the FBI.”
The victim, identified in court records only by the initials C.R., was later identified as a sworn law enforcement officer. Witnesses said C.R. ordered Lopez to sit down before flight attendants secured him with flex cuffs until the aircraft landed safely in Las Vegas.
After waiving his Miranda rights, Lopez admitted he made the improvised weapon before boarding the flight and chose to attack C.R. because he believed the man was watching him in a harassing manner, prosecutors wrote.
During the interview with federal authorities, Lopez claimed “the Mafia had been chasing him the last few months” and believed C.R. was a cartel member following him.
“The defendant stated, ‘I planned on attacking and killing him,'” the complaint says.
Lopez also “admitted to the FBI agents that he was trying to stab C.R. in the eye to reach C.R.’s brain to kill him,” the document states.
Lopez, a Mexican national who was granted permanent resident status in 2018, is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 22 for his sentencing hearing.