A woman waiting for a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport was stabbed in the face, police said.
Melissa Mauldin, 36, was waiting for her friend to return from the bathroom when Xiong Jin, 54, allegedly attacked her with a knife Sunday night in full view of Port Authority police.
The suspect was quickly handcuffed, and it turned out that he was a repeat offender and a complete stranger to the victim, who was visiting from North Carolina.
The attack occurred on the departures level of Terminal A at the New Jersey airport around 5 p.m., police said, eight days after the suspect served a nearly three-year prison sentence for an aggravated assault first reported by The New York Post.
He is now in custody and is expected to face a more serious charge of attempted murder, after first being charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon, Port Authority police said. As of this writing, he is being held in the Essex County Jail.
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Melissa Mauldin, 36, was waiting for her friend at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday when she was stabbed in the face, police said.
Her attacker, repeat offender Xiong Jin, 54, allegedly attacked her with a knife in full view of Port Authority police, reportedly eight days after being released from a three-year prison sentence for assault. He also has other violent crimes, The New York Post reported.
“This man represents a grave danger to society and should remain detained, whether in jail, prison or a psychiatric facility, to prevent further harm to others,” Mauldin told the Post of how she wants her attacker prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“No one should have to endure such a traumatic event, and I am committed to ensuring that Xiong Jin does not inflict further violence on others.”
Showing photos of the wound to her face that required 14 stitches, Mauldin said she had been visiting New Jersey for a wedding and was heading home when she was “violently attacked” from behind.
“I actually travel for a living,” he said. ABC 7the first to tell the story. ‘I’ve traveled to all different countries, I’ve been to almost every state in the United States. I’ve never felt unsafe.
‘I was telling my fiancé, Max, last night that I feel like all that security has been taken away from me and that I didn’t even do anything to deserve it.’
She told the news station she was also treated for a broken nose and cheekbone.
Meanwhile, Xiong was reported to be homeless and remained in jail Wednesday morning awaiting a court hearing to be scheduled soon.
The Union County District Attorney’s Office told the Post that they expected their charges to be updated before then.
Additionally, if convicted, Jin would be sentenced for his third stabbing, after allegedly striking a New Jersey corrections officer in the neck with a sharpened pencil in 2009, the Post learned.
She told the news station she was also treated for a fractured nose and cheekbone. Meanwhile, Xiong was said to be homeless and remained in jail Wednesday morning awaiting an upcoming scheduled court hearing. He is expected to be charged with attempted murder.
Two years earlier, he allegedly stabbed two people after inviting them to his homes, and He was also once accused of trying to stab the owner of a Chinese restaurant, according to police sources who spoke to the newspaper.
A state prison report seen by the Post showed Jin had served at least three separate sentences in the years since, between 2009 and 2024.
He was recently released on Aug. 17 on an unknown aggravated assault charge, which was also first reported by the Post.
As for the most recent incident, Port Authority police attributed the suspect’s arrest to the heroism of Officer Ryan Mangold, who quickly handcuffed Jin, likely saving Mauldin in the process.
“Our officer did an excellent job, which started with simply being in the right place at the right time, following his lead,” Port Authority Police Department Chief Frank Conti said in a statement.
“Their immediate actions prevented further injury and possibly saved the victim’s life…another example of police work that many would like to minimize or pretend doesn’t exist.”
The department’s investigation into the altercation is ongoing. Prosecutors are already involved.