Man indicted in Penn Station stabbing spree that injured 7

A New Jersey man has been indicted on attempted murder charges for an unprovoked stabbing spree at New York’s Penn Station that injured seven people earlier this month, according to prosecutors.

Hector Deleon, 51, of Newark, was charged on Monday in Manhattan with seven counts of attempted murder in the second degree, along with assault and attempted assault charges, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The attack happened at about 7 p.m. on June 7 in the NJ Transit area of Penn Station at 31st Street and Seventh Avenue, according to prosecutors. Deleon allegedly entered the station with a fixed-blade knife and began attacking people at random.

Prosecutors said Deleon first attacked a man who was sitting on the floor, stabbing at his throat, before stabbing at the chest of a woman nearby. He then stabbed at the neck of a 60-year-old man, who fought back before being stabbed in the left temple.

The man suffered a traumatic brain injury, prosecutors said.

Deleon then went down an escalator and stabbed a 36-year-old man in the neck and another 60-year-old man in the face, according to court documents. He continued deeper into the station and stabbed a 42-year-old man in the throat.

That victim fought Deleon off with a backpack before Deleon approached a 30-year-old man and stabbed him twice in the left temple. Good Samaritans helped stop the attack before Amtrak police took Deleon into custody as he tried to flee.

“Hector Deleon is now indicted for this alleged unprovoked stabbing spree in the middle of Penn Station,” Bragg said. “I am grateful to the good Samaritans who helped end this attack and the Amtrak police who safely apprehended the defendant when he attempted to flee.”

Initial reports said five people were injured, but prosecutors said Monday that seven people were attacked during the stabbing spree.

The New York Post previously reported that Deleon had a prior conviction in a similar stabbing case in New Jersey and had been arrested again just weeks before the Penn Station attack.

Court records reviewed by the newspaper showed Deleon was arrested in 2022 after slashing a man in the neck in Newark. He was released on cashless bail and later sentenced to two years of probation, according to the report.

The Post reported that Deleon had at least seven prior arrests, including allegations of aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, drug possession, domestic assault and criminal mischief. He was most recently arrested on May 22 in Long Branch, New Jersey, on theft and drug paraphernalia charges.

Penn Station is one of the busiest transit hubs in the United States and sits beneath Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, where President Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals the next day.