Man from India accused of attacking 2 teens with fork on Chicago-Germany flight

Federal prosecutors accuse an Indian national of attacking two 17-year-old boys with a fork on a flight from Chicago to Germany over the weekend. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts alleged that on Saturday, following meal service on Lufthansa Flight 431, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, stabbed one of the teens in the collarbone before hitting the second in the back of the head with the fork. 

Prosecutors mentioned that the second victim suffered a minor laceration to the back of his head, but didn’t specify the nature of the first victim’s injuries.

When the flight attendants tried to stop him, Mr. Usiripalli formed a finger gun, put his fingers in his mouth and mimicked the act of pulling the gun’s trigger. He then slapped a female passenger and tried to slap a crew member, prosecutors said.

The Boeing 747, originally set to fly from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Frankfurt Airport in Germany, did a U-turn over the Canadian island of Newfoundland and diverted to Boston Logan International Airport, according to FlightAware, a flight tracker.

Mr. Usiripalli was taken into custody once the plane landed.

Lufthansa said in a statement that, since the flight didn’t continue on to Germany, “all passengers were provided with hotel accommodations and were rebooked on the next available flights,” according to ABC News.

Mr. Usiripalli, previously in the country on a student visa to get a master’s degree in biblical studies, doesn’t have lawful status in the U.S., prosecutors said. He’s charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft.

If convicted, Mr. Usiripalli would face up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

The U.S. attorney’s office said Mr. Usiripalli will appear in court at a later date.