Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, Indian national who overstayed US student visa stabs two teenage boys with metal fork on Lufthansa plane in frenzied unprovoked attack.
An Indian national living in the United States illegally is alleged to have stabbed two teenage boys with a metal fork during a mid-flight attack, leading to the pilot making an emergency landing.
Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, attacked two 17-year-olds with the utensil during a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Frankfurt on Saturday, October 25, according to prosecutors.
The plane was diverted to Boston, Massachusetts, following the attack.
ABC: An Indian national, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, was charged with assault after stabbing two 17-year-old boys with a metal fork on Lufthansa Flight 431 from Chicago, Illinois, to Frankfurt, Germany.
He stabbed one teen in the shoulder and another in the back of the head… pic.twitter.com/9OK64ZX5ug
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) October 28, 2025
What led to unprovoked attack on Lufthansa flight?
The teen victims were stabbed in the head and chest during the sudden attack according to the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
One of the boys had been asleep in a middle seat when he woke up to find Usiripalli standing over him with a fork shortly after in flight meals had been served.
Usiripalli – who overstayed his American student visa after studying at a private evangelical college in Chicago – allegedly lunged forward and stabbed the teenager in the collarbone.
He then turned on another passenger, striking him in the back of the head.
As cabin crew attempted to restrain the passenger, Usiripalli made a gun shape with his hand, putting his fingers in his mouth and miming pulling the trigger.
He then slapped a female passenger and tried to hit one of the crew members before eventually restrained.
The aircraft was forced to reroute to Boston’s Logan International Airport, where police arrested Usiripalli.
Usiripalli following his arrest was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily harm.
Indian national had entered US for masters program in biblical studies
Authorities said he previously entered the US on a student visa and was enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies, but no longer held legal status in the country.
Usiripalli attended the Moody Bible Institute, which is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois.
Usiripalli was living at an address in the Edgewater Glen neighborhood, just a few miles north of Chicago, at the time of his arrest, according to online records.
Usiripalli remains in custody pending trial, with federal prosecutors describing the attack as ‘a frenzied mid-air incident that endangered passengers and crew alike.’
Usiripalli faces up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
