‘Telugu Student’ Charged After Allegedly Stabbing Teens with Fork on Chicago-to-Germany Flight

A 28-year-old Indian national and former master’s student was arrested and charged with assault after allegedly stabbing two teenage passengers with a metal fork, slapping a female passenger, and making threatening gestures during a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany over the weekend, federal authorities announced Monday.

Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli was taken into custody Saturday night after Lufthansa Flight 431, carrying 363 passengers, was forced to divert to Boston’s Logan International Airport due to what the airline called “the behavior of an unruly passenger,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

According to federal prosecutors, the incident unfolded following a meal service on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which had departed Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at 4:26 p.m. local time Saturday, bound for Frankfurt, Germany.

NBC News reported that a 17-year-old passenger who was asleep in a middle seat awoke to find Usiripalli standing over him with a fork. Usiripalli allegedly stabbed the teen in the left clavicle area with the metal utensil.

The suspect then allegedly lunged at a second 17-year-old passenger seated to the right of the first victim, stabbing him in the back of the head with the same fork, causing a laceration, according to court documents cited by CNN.

When flight crew members attempted to subdue Usiripalli, the situation escalated further. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement reported by multiple outlets, Usiripalli “formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth and pulled an imaginary trigger.”

CBS Chicago reported that he then turned and slapped a female passenger before attempting to slap a flight crew member. The Chicago Tribune noted that authorities described him as having “mimicked shooting himself during an international flight.”

According to flight tracking data from FlightAware cited by UPI, the aircraft was flying over Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador when it was diverted to Boston, landing at Logan International Airport at 10:48 p.m.

Immigration Status and Background

Federal officials revealed that Usiripalli is an Indian national who does not currently have lawful status in the United States. According to NBC News, Usiripalli “was previously admitted to the United States on a student visa and was enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies.”

The Week, an Indian publication, identified Usiripalli as “a Telugu student” pursuing a master’s degree in biblical studies, though it did not specify which institution he attended or when his legal status expired.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Usiripalli “does not have lawful status in the United States,” according to ABC7 Chicago, though officials did not provide details about when or why his status changed.

Usiripalli was charged Monday 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 Department of Justice.

CNN reported that the charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. According to ABC7 Chicago, Usiripalli will appear in federal court in Boston “at a later date.”

What motivated Usiripalli’s alleged attack? Court documents reported by various outlets do not indicate any prior interaction between Usiripalli and the victims.

As of Tuesday, it was not immediately clear whether Usiripalli has retained an attorney to represent him. The Chicago Tribune noted that “information on the case, including whether he has an attorney, was not available in the federal court system Tuesday and the U.S. attorney’s office didn’t respond to a request for further details.”

Victims’ Conditions

Federal prosecutors described the injuries sustained by the two teenage victims but did not provide extensive details about their conditions. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement reported by NBC News, the first victim was struck in the left clavicle area, while the second passenger sustained “a laceration to the back of his head.”

Neither the identities of the victims nor the female passenger who was allegedly slapped have been made public. Authorities have not disclosed whether the victims required medical treatment beyond what may have been provided on the aircraft or upon landing in Boston.

Questions Remaining

As the case proceeds through the federal court system, numerous questions remain unanswered:

What motivated Usiripalli’s alleged attack? Court documents reported by various outlets do not indicate any prior interaction between Usiripalli and the victims, nor do they suggest any provocation for the violence.

When and why did his immigration status lapse? While federal officials confirmed he previously held a student visa for a master’s program in biblical studies, they have not disclosed when that status expired or whether he had attempted to extend it.

Does he have any history of mental health issues or previous violent behavior? No information about his background prior to Saturday’s incident has been made public.

Were there any warning signs before the attack? The incident allegedly occurred after meal service, but it’s unclear whether Usiripalli exhibited any concerning behavior earlier in the flight.

The FBI Boston office, which is handling the investigation, posted about the case on X (formerly Twitter), confirming that they had “charged Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, an Indian national, with allegedly stabbing two minor victims with a metal fork while on board a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany.”

Awaiting Justice

As Usiripalli awaits his court appearance, the case serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability passengers face in the confined space of an aircraft, where violent behavior can quickly endanger many people and where escape is impossible.

For aviation authorities and airlines, the incident underscores the ongoing challenges of identifying and managing potentially dangerous passengers before situations escalate—particularly when, as in this case, the violence apparently erupted without warning.

And for the victims and their families, the legal proceedings to come may provide some measure of justice, but are unlikely to erase the trauma of being attacked at 30,000 feet by a stranger wielding a metal fork.

This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.