Last Sunday in Newark Airport Terminal A, Melissa Mauldin, a 36-year-old woman from North Carolina, was waiting in the departure hall to meet up with friends when tragedy struck. Mauldin, engrossed in watching children play, was caught off guard as a sharp blade cut her right cheek in an instant.
Shocked and terrified, Mauldin turned to see Xiong Jin, a 54-year-old Chinese man, standing behind her with a blood-stained knife in his hand. Airport police witnessed the attack, promptly arrested Jin on charges of severe assault and illegal possession of a weapon. Meanwhile, Mauldin was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, receiving 14 stitches on her facial wound along with injuries to her nose and cheekbones.
According to the New Jersey Department of Correction, Jin, born in November 1969 and standing around 1.75 meters tall, had been incarcerated three times in 2009, 2010, and 2021, with all offenses occurring in Union City.
Just released for a serious assault offense on August 17, Jin found himself in custody again just a week later. Mauldin, deeply shaken by the incident, expressed during an interview with ABC, “I have never felt so unsafe. Last night, I told my fiancé, ‘I feel like all my sense of security has been stripped away, and I have done nothing to deserve this.'”
Mauldin, who had flown from North Carolina to New Jersey with plans to attend a friend’s wedding in Hoboken, found herself caught in this tragic event at the airport.
After learning from the authorities that Jin was a repeat offender with a history of stabbing incidents, including one from 17 years ago involving two individuals in Kenilworth, Mauldin questioned through the media, “Why would you (Jin) be so evil?”
In the early hours of March 7, 2007, Jin, then a Chinese citizen, attacked Mu Liao, aged 32, and Dian Xing Jiang, aged 39, with a knife at their residence on Woodland Ave in Union City. Police reports from NJ.com in 2007 indicated that Jin, who originally lived in New York, had later moved in with Liao and Jiang, where the altercation occurred.
Shortly after his arrest, Jin confessed and was sentenced to three years in prison. However, two years later, he made headlines again for attacking a prison guard.
In 2009, Jin was reported to have attacked a guard with a sharpened pencil during a meal distribution, resulting in injuries to the guard and another officer who intervened. Due to his non-citizen status, Jin faced the possibility of deportation following his incarceration, but with the latest assault case, he might face an extended stay in the US penal system.
Following the recent incident, Mauldin stressed in an interview with the New York Post, “This man has posed a serious threat to society and should remain incarcerated – whether in a detention center, prison, or mental health facility – to prevent further harm to others.”
Jin is currently detained at the Essex County Jail in Newark, where sources suggest he could face upgraded charges of attempted murder.