Among the five people wounded by a drugged-out slasher who cut a bloody path through Penn Station in Midtown was a commuter who suffered a traumatic brain injury after the attacker’s knife pierced his temporal lobe, prosecutors said Friday.
New details emerged in the grisly stabbing spree at accused slasher Hector Deleon’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, as prosecutors revealed the extent of his victims’ injuries, including one man who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in the June 7 attack.
“This was a terrifying attack in the middle of Penn Station during an incredibly busy time in New York City,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Two other victims, including Howell, N.J., resident Steven Hadgkiss, 52, were slashed in their necks, while the remaining two injured commuters suffered slash wounds to their face.
“This crazy dude was running down the stairs,” Hadgkiss told the Daily News after the attack. “You could see in his eyes that he was a total mess.”
“I turn my head a little bit and that’s when I felt it. It felt like a punch to the neck.”
The other man stabbed in the neck complained that the wound, which required three stitches, affected his ability to swallow and eat, prosecutors said.
In addition to the five who were injured, prosecutors on Friday revealed two additional victims, identified as Victims 6 and 7, who narrowly avoided being wounded in the attack.
Investigators obtained video that shows Deleon, 51, swiping his blade at Victim 6 and striking the man’s head or neck, while Victim 7 narrowly avoided a blow to her stomach, prosecutors said.
Sources said that Deleon, who is believed to be homeless, suffers from mental illness and was high on drugs when he launched on the unprovoked stabbing spree.
His attorney requested a psych evaluation for Deleon at his arraignment, where a judge ordered the defendant held without bail after he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, assault and attempted assault.
Deleon, who entered Penn Station at Seventh Ave. and 31st St., began his attack in the boarding area for NJ Transit around 7 p.m.
The five injured victims were treated at Bellevue Hospital for wounds described as non-life-threatening. One victim was listed in serious condition while the others suffered moderate or minor wounds.
Hadgkiss recalled being treated in an ambulance at the scene along with another victim, who appeared delirious from his wounds.
“The other people definitely looked worse than me,” said Hadgkiss, who received six stitches. “They put another gentleman in the ambulance across from me. He was just covered in blood. He was talking incoherently. I couldn’t understand what he was saying.”
Amtrak police officers arrested the suspect moments after he attacked his final victim inside the station. When confronted by the cops, Deleon dropped the knife.
Deleon has one prior arrest in New York City, in the East Village on June 19, 2008, for misdemeanor drug possession, a police source said.
He has been arrested six times in New Jersey, between February 2022 and last month, on charges including aggravated assault, weapon possession, narcotics, domestic assault and criminal mischief.
