US National Charged with Stabbing Teens on Lufthansa Flight Over Germany
A 28-year-old Indian national, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon while traveling by air after allegedly stabbing two teenage boys on board a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. According to federal authorities, the attack occurred on Saturday as the plane was en route.
Usiripalli, who was not in lawful possession of a US visa, had been studying biblical studies in the country before the incident. When confronted by flight attendants, he threatened them, pretending to pull the trigger on an imaginary gun and slapping another female passenger in the process.
The victims, both 17 years old, suffered non-life-threatening injuries - one stab wound to the back of his head and another to his shoulder area. The aircraft was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport after authorities became aware of the incident, where Usiripalli was immediately apprehended.
If convicted, Usiripalli faces up to ten years imprisonment or three years supervised release, as well as a fine of $250,000. A court date in Boston has been set for later.
A 28-year-old Indian national, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon while traveling by air after allegedly stabbing two teenage boys on board a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. According to federal authorities, the attack occurred on Saturday as the plane was en route.
Usiripalli, who was not in lawful possession of a US visa, had been studying biblical studies in the country before the incident. When confronted by flight attendants, he threatened them, pretending to pull the trigger on an imaginary gun and slapping another female passenger in the process.
The victims, both 17 years old, suffered non-life-threatening injuries - one stab wound to the back of his head and another to his shoulder area. The aircraft was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport after authorities became aware of the incident, where Usiripalli was immediately apprehended.
If convicted, Usiripalli faces up to ten years imprisonment or three years supervised release, as well as a fine of $250,000. A court date in Boston has been set for later.
He just randomly attacks 2 teens on a plane over Germany and now he's facing serious charges? Like, assault with a deadly weapon is NO JOKE! 
How did he even get past all those checks and screenings? This whole thing is just so frustrating and disturbing... 
. I remember flying with my family back in the day and we had to be super careful not to get too rowdy or make any sudden movements. Now it's like you can stab someone just because? 
. Anyway, I hope these two teens are okay and that the dude gets the max time he deserves 
so another "studying" in the US who decides to bring their inner psychopath with them... like what's next? gonna stab some tourists on the beach or something? 
anyways, glad those teens are okay tho... don't know how a 17-yr-old is even supposed to defend himself against someone with a knife tho 
and btw, $250k fine? that's cute, like it's gonna make him regret his actions or something 
, like how does someone get so aggressive? and what's with the visa situation tho... didn't he know that was a problem? 
anyway, 17 year olds getting stabbed on a plane is crazy 
they must've been super scared, poor guys 
guess you could say his studies didn't exactly prepare him for life in the US 
. The fact that he pretended to pull the trigger and slapped another girl - that's just sick 
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USiripalli had no visa and was studying biblical studies, like maybe he should've kept his personal issues to himself? 
? some dude just stab two teens on an airplane and everyone's all like "oh no" but where was the security? like how did he even get past them without anyone noticing? 
anyways, glad no one died tho 
. And poor teens got stabbed, so no thanks to being a hero for him 
. Anyways, hope these two youngins make a speedy recovery - but who knows if they'll ever be able to say they didn't have a crazy plane story to tell 
I'm glad those boys are going to be okay, non-life-threatening injuries can't be ignored though 
at least they're taking responsibility for their actions now
This whole thing got me thinking... why do we have these lax airport security protocols in the States? I mean, this guy was able to fly around with no visa and cause all this chaos on a plane 
This incident is really disturbing, especially since the suspect wasn't even following basic travel rules and was pretending to have a gun on a flight full of innocent people 
. And as for Usiripalli's background, studying biblical studies doesn't necessarily mean he had a clear head or was mentally stable enough to handle such an intense situation... 
! I'm just glad those two teens are gonna be okay 
. Like, stabbing people is SO not cool 
That's some weird behavior right there 
. can't believe this happened on a plane w/ so many people around 
.