A Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany was diverted to Boston after a man stabbed two teenage passengers with a metal fork, authorities said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm in connection with the incident Saturday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usiripalli was arrested after the plane landed at Boston’s Logan International Airport, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Usiripalli has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesman for Lufthansa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 17-year-old passenger who was asleep in a middle seat awoke to Usiripalli standing over him with the fork following a meal service, federal prosecutors said. Usiripalli lunged at the passenger, striking his left clavicle, before he stabbed another 17-year-old in the back of the head, officials alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second passenger had a laceration to the back of his head, the prosecutor’s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the flight crew tried to subdue Usiripalli, he formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger, prosecutors said. He then slapped a female passenger, according to the statement, and tried to slap a member of the flight crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usiripalli, an Indian national, was previously admitted to the United States on a student visa and was enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies, according to federal officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. attorney’s office said Usiripalli does not have lawful status in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n