Man, 28, charged with stabbing 2 teens with fork on US flight, heard mumbling 'I am the reason for Covid'

An Indian national has been charged in the United States after allegedly stabbing two 17-year-old passengers with a metal fork aboard a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, forcing the plane to divert to Boston on Oct. 25, reported the New York Times.

Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, was charged by federal prosecutors with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft in U.S. jurisdiction.

The mile-high fork attack

The incident occurred during meal service roughly two hours after takeoff from Chicago.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the violence unfolded when one teenager, seated at 43D in the middle section of the aircraft, awoke to find Usiripalli standing over him.

Usiripalli allegedly struck the teen in the left collarbone with a fork before lunging toward another 17-year-old, who was seated at 43E to the right of the first teen, to stab him in the back of the head.

The second victim sustained a laceration to his scalp.

The first teen said that he exchanged pleasantries with Usiripalli during the initial boarding period and that was their only interaction prior to the assault.

The second mentioned that Usiripalli had been yelling unintelligibly.

After having allegedly attacked both minors, Usiripalli then stepped back into the aisle where he was restrained by flight crew members.

When the flight attendants tried to subdue him, Usiripalli formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth, and pulled an imaginary trigger.

He then slapped a woman passenger seated nearby and attempted to strike a flight attendant before being subdued and handcuffed, according to the complaint.

After he had been handcuffed by the flight crew, Usiripalli dropped to his knees, bent over and tried to kiss the shoes of the flight attendant that he had previously tried to slap.

Usiripalli then started mumbling bizarre things such as “Koran”, “Barack and Michelle Obama”, “the King”, “I am a sinner in the eyes of Siddhartha”, “happy times to everybody” and “I am the reason for Covid”.

Arrest

Due to the disturbance, the flight was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts and federal authorities arrested Usiripalli upon landing

The metal fork used in the assault was later recovered from a galley trash bin.

Usiripalli, who was previously in the U.S. on a student visa and most recently enrolled in a master’s program in Biblical studies, no longer holds lawful immigration status, as reported by CNN.

The press release by the Unites States Department of Justice stated that he is expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

If convicted, Usiripalli faces up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to US$250,000 (S$323,735).

Top images via Pixabay, Court documents