IBNS-CMEDIA: An Indian national, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, has been charged in the United States after allegedly stabbing two teenage passengers with a metal fork and slapping another passenger aboard a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Court documents state that the 28-year-old accused first attacked a 17-year-old passenger seated next to him, stabbing the boy in the shoulder while he slept.
Usiripalli then allegedly lunged at another 17-year-old, stabbing him in the back of the head with the same fork, leaving him with a bleeding laceration.
When flight crew members tried to intervene, Usiripalli reportedly mimicked shooting himself with an imaginary pistol, then slapped a female passenger and attempted to hit a crew member, prosecutors said.
The Lufthansa flight was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport, where federal agents arrested Usiripalli upon landing.
Authorities revealed that Usiripalli was in the US on a student visa but currently lacks lawful immigration status.
He had been enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies at the time of the incident.
Usiripalli now faces one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily harm aboard an aircraft- a federal crime under the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, the US Attorney’s Office said.
