NEWARK, NJ – A North Carolina woman was unexpectedly attacked at Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday night. A man approached the victim from behind, unexpectedly stabbing her in the face. The victim was identified as 36-year-old Melissa Mauldin.
Mauldin had been waiting for her flight home in Terminal A when she was violently assaulted. The Port Authority police witnessed the attack, seeing a man who they later identified as 54-year-old Xiong Jin, assault Mauldin with a knife on her face at the Terminal’s departures level. Jin was promptly arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault, as well as charges of unlawful possession of a weapon.
Mauldin was brought to a nearby hospital. Her injuries, though not life-threatening, were severe. The knife cut into the right side of her face, requiring 14 stitches, and fractured her cheekbone and nose.
Reliving the attack, Mauldin explained that the assault was sudden and unprovoked. She felt a powerful blow to her face and turned around to see a man wielding a knife covered in blood.
Mauldin, who resides near Charlotte, North Carolina, was visiting New Jersey to attend a wedding in Hoboken. She and her friends were heading home on Sunday evening when the incident occurred. Following Jin’s arrest by Port Authority police, bystanders quickly came to Mauldin’s aid.
According to police, Jin had been in and out of jail since 2009 for previous assault charges. Mauldin expressed her hope that Jin would remain in prison and receive help to prevent such attacks from happening to anyone else in the future.