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   A man who the authorities say attacked two teenagers with a fork on a flight   
   from Chicago to Germany over the weekend, forcing the plane to divert to   
   Boston, was arrested and charged with assault, federal prosecutors announced   
   on Monday.   
       
   The  U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said that   
   Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, 28, stabbed two 17-year-olds with the metal fork   
   during meal service about two hours into the Lufthansa flight, which had been   
   scheduled to travel from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany. He struck one of the   
   passengers in the shoulder and the other in the back of the head, according to   
   a federal complaint filed in the District Court of Massachusetts.   
       
   Mr. Usiripalli was arrested on Saturday after the plane landed in Boston. If   
   convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and up to three years of   
   unsupervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.   
       
   Lufthansa said in a statement that passengers on the diverted flight were   
   provided with hotels and rebooked on the next available flights to Germany out   
   of Boston.   
       
   "The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew are always Lufthansa's   
   highest priority," Tal Muscal, a spokesperson for the airline, said in a   
   statement.   
       
   It was not clear what led to the attack. One teenager had been asleep in a   
   middle seat, according to prosecutors, when he awoke to see Mr. Usiripalli   
   standing over him. Mr. Usiripalli attempted to stab him in the clavicle area   
   with the fork, prosecutors said in the release, but the passenger escaped   
   injury because a thick sweatshirt blocked the fork. The second teenager was   
   not as fortunate, suffering a gash to the back of the head.   
       
   Two flight attendants and a passenger rushed to intervene after hearing the   
   disturbance and tried to restrain Mr. Usiripalli. He then gestured as if   
   firing a gun into his mouth before turning to slap a nearby woman, according   
   to the federal complaint. He also attempted to strike a flight attendant   
   before being subdued.   
       
   The flight was diverted and landed safely at Logan International Airport.   
       
   Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Usiripalli with assault with a dangerous   
   weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft under U.S.   
   jurisdiction. He is set to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.   
      
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