Additional Coverage:
- Penn Station stabbing victim slams Mamdani, DA Bragg for suspect being free on streets (foxnews.com)
A victim of a recent stabbing at Penn Station has openly criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, describing the chaotic scene in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”
Henry Obadiah, who was injured in the attack, placed responsibility on city leadership for what he called a failure to keep dangerous individuals off the streets. “I’ve got to blame the administration, starting with Mamdani and Bragg,” Obadiah stated on Tuesday.
The suspect, identified as 51-year-old Hector Deleon, reportedly has a lengthy criminal record spanning New York and New Jersey. However, DA Bragg told New York’s FOX 5 that Deleon had no active cases in New York State and no criminal history in Manhattan for nearly two decades.
Obadiah challenged this account, questioning why Deleon, who allegedly stabbed someone in New Jersey, was still free. “I just saw an interview with Bragg, and he said that this guy doesn’t have an arrest record in New York, so that’s why he’s out on the street,” Obadiah said.
“But who cares? If he stabbed someone in New Jersey, why isn’t this guy under arrest?”
Reports indicate that Deleon has at least seven arrests dating back to 2008, including charges related to aggravated assault, weapon possession, drug offenses, assault, domestic assault, and criminal mischief. Despite this record, he was out of jail following a similar stabbing in Newark, N.J., in 2022, and had been taken into custody as recently as last May for narcotics, theft, and assault.
The stabbing incident, which occurred Sunday in Midtown Manhattan near Penn Station, left five people injured, with one victim seriously hurt. Obadiah described the moment he was attacked while heading toward the Seventh Avenue exit. He recalled locking eyes with the assailant, whom he described as a “crazy madman” filled with rage, before being slashed across the face.
“My first reaction was, ‘I’m going to go after this guy. I want to kill him,’ but then this guy behind me goes, ‘He’s got a knife,’ so then I just backed off and went up the escalator,” Obadiah recounted. Upon reaching the top, he was informed that he was bleeding from a stab wound.
Obadiah said the scene was chaotic, with blood and belongings scattered everywhere. He followed officers to the New Jersey Transit area, where he saw others receiving aid and law enforcement responding rapidly to multiple stabbing victims.
His injury required stitches near his mouth. The New York Police Department has deferred inquiries to Amtrak Police, who are leading the investigation.
Mayor Mamdani expressed sympathy for those affected, stating on social media, “My heart is with everyone who was injured, their loved ones, and all those shaken by this unacceptable violence. I’m wishing each of the victims a full and speedy recovery.” He also thanked the Amtrak Police and first responders for their swift action in apprehending the suspect and providing emergency care.
Requests for comment from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Mayor’s Office were not immediately returned.