New Jersey Gun‑Shop Owner Hailed as Hero After Duct‑Taping Violent Passenger on Flight

When you’re on a plane and someone starts yelling hate‑filled slurs, most of us would probably just wish the turbulence would end. Not Richard O’Lenick, 53, owner of the Gun for Hire range in Woodland Park, N.J. He was ready to act – and act fast.

O’Lenick and his employee, Juan Mejía, a retired New Jersey police officer, were returning from a gun expo in Reno when they boarded American Airlines Flight 618 in Dallas. The flight was headed to Newark when 67‑year‑old passenger Arthur Layne Lundeen suddenly erupted, shouting racist and homophobic epithets at a Black flight attendant and, according to witnesses, becoming physically aggressive.

“I don’t love to fly,” O’Lenick told The Daily Voice afterward. “He looks at me and says, ‘We’re all going to die. This plane is going to crash.’ I told him, ‘You’re going to meet a couple of new friends when we land.’”

Within seconds, Lundeen lunged at nearby passengers, his rage spilling over into a full‑blown melee. That’s when O’Lenick and Mejía sprang into action. The two men, already on a first‑name basis from the gun range, coordinated without a second‑guessing thought. “I’ve got his back and he’s got mine,” O’Lenick said, recalling how they tackled the situation together.

While flight attendants scrambled for whatever they could find – a roll of duct tape and a handful of zip‑ties – the duo wrestled Lundeen to the aisle. The older man even tried to bite Mejía, forcing the retired cop to cling on for dear life. Eventually, they managed to strap the passenger’s head to his seat with duct tape and secure his arms with zip‑ties, keeping him from harming anyone else for the remainder of the flight.

“It was a pretty volatile situation for a while,” O’Lenick admitted. “Safety was definitely a concern, and we didn’t know what he might do next.” After the plane touched down in Newark, Maryland Transportation Police took Lundeen into custody. Court documents show he’s been charged with second‑degree assault and disorderly conduct, and his employer – Long Realty in Arizona – promptly terminated his employment.

For O’Lenick, the episode was less about heroics and more about responsibility. “I didn’t set out to be a hero,” he said with a modest chuckle. “I just didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

Passengers who witnessed the ordeal later praised the quick thinking of the gun‑shop owner and the retired officer. “They saved the day without any drama,” one seatmate noted, adding that the whole incident felt like something out of a movie – only this time, the unlikely heroes weren’t armed with guns, but with tape, zip‑ties, and a strong sense of duty.