NEW YORK — A deranged homeless man with a rap sheet full of violence unleashed a terrifying stabbing spree inside Penn Station on Sunday evening, slashing five innocent commuters in a random bloodbath that sent panicked New Yorkers fleeing for their lives, just hours before President Trump was set to roll into Madison Square Garden for the NBA Finals.
The chaos erupted around 7 p.m. near the New Jersey Transit boarding area in the bustling Midtown transit hub, where Hector Deleon, 51, allegedly went on a wild-eyed rampage with a six-inch "boot dagger," sources told The Post.
Commuters screamed in horror as the suspect, described as emotionally disturbed and possibly high on drugs, attacked strangers waiting for their trains home. Crowds stampeded, people were trampled in the frenzy, and blood pooled on the station floor.
"I saw him stab one person, and once [the victim] started screaming, everyone ran," witness Brandon Norwood told The Post. "Someone fell, and I had to help them up so they weren’t next or trampled. It all happened so fast."
One victim, 60-year-old accountant Henry Obadiah of Long Branch, N.J., was heading home when the maniac locked eyes on him.“He went at me to kill me! I saw the rage in his eyes,” Obadiah recalled. “The crazy guy ... roundhoused me! Clocked me right in the face. ... I didn’t realize I had just been slashed in the face.”
Obadiah said he thought he’d been punched until he checked his phone reflection and saw the gash. He ran to the cops as a trail of blood led to more victims.FDNY officials said one victim suffered serious injuries, two had moderate wounds, and two others had minor ones. All five were rushed to Bellevue Hospital. A sixth person, possibly the suspect himself, was also hurt.
Amtrak police tackled and cuffed Deleon on the spot. The career criminal has a history that includes a 2022 neck-stabbing with a similar blade for which he got just probation, plus recent arrests for theft and drug paraphernalia.
Witnesses described floors slick with blood, victims with neck cuts and head wounds, and terrified food vendors watching people bolt in panic.
“You can be standing there waiting for your train, and the next thing you know is you’re waking up in the hospital with one of your eyes gone,” said Nia Carrington, 52. “This part of town is just so full of mentally ill people ... wandering around like they’re on another planet. And every once in a while, they have a knife in their pocket.”
The timing couldn’t be worse: Game 3 of the Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals was happening Monday night right upstairs at MSG, with Trump expected in attendance. Security was already ramped up, and this nightmare only cranked the tension higher.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it “horrific” and said six people were stabbed. Gov. Kathy Hochul thanked first responders for stopping more harm.
No terror link, just another sickening episode of random street madness in a city where too many feel it’s open season on regular folks trying to get home.
Deleon was hospitalized and faces charges as the investigation continues. Victims are expected to survive, but the scars and the fear will linger.
