Tourist is slashed across the face in horror knife attack at Newark Airport

A woman who was waiting for a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport was stabbed in the face, cops said. 

Melissa Mauldin, 36, was waiting for her friend to come back from the bathroom when Xiong Jin, 54, allegedly assaulted her with a knife Sunday evening - in plain view of Port Authority police.

They quickly cuffed the suspect who was later found to be a repeat offender, as well as a complete stranger to the victim, who was visiting from North Carolina.

The attack happened at the Terminal A departures level in the New Jersey airport around 5 pm, cops said - eight days after the suspect finished a nearly three-year prison sentence for an aggravated assault first reported by The New York Post.

Now in custody, he's expected to face an upgraded charge of attempted murder, after being first charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a weapon, Port Authority cops said. As of writing, he is being held in Essex County Jail.

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Melissa Mauldin, 36, was waiting for her friend at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday when she was stabbed in the face, cops said.

Her attacker, repeat creiminal Xiong Jin, 54, allegedly assaulted her with a knife in plain view of Port Authority police - reportedly eight days after being released from a three-year prison bid for  assault. He has a range of other violent offenses as well, The New York Post reported

'This man poses a serious danger to society and should remain in custody – whether in jail, prison, or a psychiatric facility – to prevent further harm to others,' Mauldin told the Post of how she wants her attacker to be prosecuted to the fullest

'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 on her face that required 14 stitches, Mauldin said had been visiting New Jersey for a wedding, and was on her way home when she was 'violently attacked' from behind .

'I actually travel for a living,' she told ABC 7, the first to report the story. 'I've traveled to all different countries, I've been to almost every state in the United States. I've never not felt secure.

'I was telling my fiancé, Max, last night I feel like all that security has been stripped from me and I didn't even do anything to deserve it.'

She told the news station that she was also treated for a fractured nose and cheekbone. 

Xiong, meanwhile, was said to be homeless, and remained in jail Wednesday morning ahead of a soon-to-be scheduled court hearing. 

The Union County Prosecutor's Office told the Post they were expecting his charges to be updated before then.

Moreover, if found guilty, Jin would be sentenced for his third stabbing, after allegedly jabbing a New Jersey corrections officer in the neck with a sharpened pencil in 2009, the Post found. 

She told the news station that she was also treated for a fractured nose and cheekbone. Xiong, meanwhile, was said to be homeless, and remained in jail Wednesday morning ahead of a soon-to-be scheduled court hearing. He is expected to be charged with attempted murder

 Two years before, he allegedly stabbed two people after they being invited to their homes, and also was once accused of trying to stab the owner of a Chinese restaurant, according to law enforcement insiders who spoke to the paper.

A state corrections viewed by the Post reportedly showed how Jin had served at least three separate sentences in the years since, between 2009 and 2024. 

He was most recently released on August 17 for the unkown aggravated assault offense, which was also first reported by the Post.

As for the more recent incident, Port Authority cops credited the suspect's arrest to the heroics of officer Ryan Mangold, who quickly cuffed Jin - likely saving Mauldin in the process.

'Our officer did an excellent job, which started with him simply being in the right place at the right time, walking his foot-post,' Port Authority Police Department boss Frank Conti said in a statement. 

'His immediate actions prevented further injury and possibly saved the victim's life... yet another example of police work many would like to downplay or pretend does not exist.'

The department's investigation into the altercation remains ongoing. Prosecutors are already involved.