A 28-year-old Indian national has been charged with allegedly stabbing two teenage passengers with a metal fork during a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany, federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the incident happened Oct. 25 aboard Lufthansa Flight 431 to Frankfurt, Germany. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli allegedly stabbed two 17-year-old passengers—one who was sleeping—then slapped a female passenger and tried to hit a crew member. The flight was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport.
Moments later, Usiripalli then allegedly lunged at another 17-year-old, who was seated to the right of the first victim in the center row, and struck him in the back of the head with the fork, officials said. The passenger suffered a laceration to the back of his head.
When flight crew members tried to restrain Usiripalli, he allegedly "raised his hand, formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth and pulled an imaginary trigger," according to the U.S. attorney's office.
He then allegedly "turned toward a female passenger to his left and slapped her with his hand" before also attempting to slap a crew member. The disturbance led the pilot to divert the flight to Boston, where authorities took Usiripalli into custody upon landing.
Usiripalli is charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He was arrested Saturday after the flight landed in Boston and will appear in federal court at a later date.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Usiripalli was previously admitted to the United States on a student visa and had been enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies. He "presently does not have lawful status in the United States," the office said.
If convicted, the charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, prosecutors said.