Oct. 27 (UPI) — A Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany was diverted to Boston over the weekend after a 28-year-old man stabbed two minors with a metal fork, federal prosecutors said.
Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, was charged Monday with one count of assault with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.
Lufthansa flight 431 departed Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 4:26 p.m. local time Saturday, en route to Frankfurt, Germany, but was diverted to Boston as it was flying over Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador, according to air traffic tracker flightaware.com.
According to federal prosecutors, the diversion was allegedly caused by Usiripalli.
Court documents state that following meal service, a 17-year-old boy who had been sleeping in a middle seat awoke to the suspect standing over him. Usiripalli allegedly stabbed the teen in the left clavicle area with a metal fork.
The suspect is then accused of lunging at a second 17-year-old boy who was sitting to the first victim’s right, stabbing him in the back of the head.
As flight crew tried to restrain Usiripalli, he allegedly “formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth and pulled an imaginary trigger.”
He is also accused of slapping a female passenger and attempting to slap a flight crew member.
According to flightaware, the flight landed at Logan International Airport at 10:48 p.m. On its arrival, Usiripalli was arrested and taken into police custody, federal prosecutors said.
The Justice Department said Usiripalli, an Indian national, had no lawful status in the United States but had previously been admitted to the country on a student visa. He had been enrolled in a biblical studies master’s program.
He is to expected to appear in a Boston federal court at a later date.
If convicted, Usiripalli faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
