NEW YORK — A 28-year-old Indian student who reportedly lost his U.S. visa status has been charged with stabbing two teenagers and assaulting a woman during a violent incident aboard a transatlantic flight, federal prosecutors in Boston said Monday.
According to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli allegedly attacked two 17-year-old boys with a metal fork after the meal service on a Chicago-to-Frankfurt flight. One teen was stabbed in the shoulder and the other in the back of the head. Usiripalli also slapped a woman passenger and attempted to strike a flight crew member before being restrained.
The pilots diverted the plane to Boston, where authorities arrested the suspect upon landing.
“When flight crew members attempted to subdue Usiripalli, he allegedly raised his hand, formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth, and pulled an imaginary trigger,” the prosecutor’s statement said.
Officials did not specify a motive for the assault. The U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that Usiripalli had entered the country on a student visa but “presently does not have lawful status.” He had been pursuing a master’s degree in biblical studies, though prosecutors did not name the institution.
A LinkedIn profile matching his name lists Usiripalli as a student at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, an evangelical Christian college that describes its mission as training students to “engage the world through gospel-centered living.”
If convicted of assaulting an aircraft passenger with a dangerous weapon and intent to cause bodily harm, Usiripalli faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. (Source: IANS)
