Violent incident aboard a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Frankfurt am Main. Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, is alleged to have stabbed two teenagers with a fork from the in-flight cutlery set aboard the Lufthansa aircraft. One of the teenagers suffered an injury to his collarbone, the other to the back of his head. The public prosecutor’s office in the US state of Massachusetts has brought charges against the student from India.
‘When the crew tried 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 public prosecutor’s report continues. According to news magazine Der Spiegel, the attacker also shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is great’ – and the English word ‘Hijack’.
The incident occurred on Saturday. The Lufthansa jet aborted the flight after the incident and made an emergency landing in Boston, where the student was arrested. Nothing is known about a possible Islamist background at this stage.
The Boston public prosecutor’s office is officially investigating the incident as assault and dangerous interference with air traffic. The student faces up to ten years in prison.
After the incident, Lufthansa stated: ‘We deeply regret the inconvenience caused by this situation. Upon arrival, our guests were offered psychological counselling by a specially trained team,’ the company told the Bild newspaper.
The flight was not continued. Passengers were rebooked onto other aircraft.