New York – The homeless man accused of slashing five people in a bloody rampage inside Penn Station was roaming free despite a nearly identical stabbing conviction in New Jersey just four years earlier — and a string of other arrests in the weeks leading up to the attack.

Hector Deleon, 51, allegedly went on a frenzied knife attack around 7 p.m. Sunday in the busy NJ Transit Concourse area of Penn Station, using a double-edged “boot dagger” to wound five innocent bystanders.

One victim, 60-year-old accountant Henry Obadiah, described the terrifying moment: Deleon had “rage in his eyes” before slashing him across the face. “I didn’t realize I had just been slashed in the face,” Obadiah told reporters.

The attack left one person seriously injured, two with moderate wounds (including neck cuts), and two others with minor injuries, according to FDNY officials. Blood was reportedly splattered across the station floor.

Deleon was quickly apprehended after the assault but fought with officers and had to be sedated before being taken to the hospital, where he remained under heavy sedation as of Monday. He had not yet been formally charged.

Court records reveal a disturbing pattern. In February 2022, Deleon was arrested in Newark for stabbing a man in the neck with a nearly identical 6-inch knife during an argument. The victim required nine stitches. Deleon was released on cashless bail just days later and ultimately received only two years of probation after pleading guilty to aggravated assault.

He violated probation at least once and faced additional arrests — including one as recently as May 22 in Long Branch, New Jersey, for theft and drug paraphernalia. Despite his history of violence, weapons charges, and drug issues, Deleon spent little to no significant time incarcerated.

Authorities say Deleon entered Penn Station from the street moments before the rampage. The incident occurred just one day before President Trump was scheduled to attend a Knicks playoff game at nearby Madison Square Garden.

This latest transit horror comes only two months after another brutal stabbing at Grand Central Station, where a machete-wielding attacker was shot dead by police.

Commuters expressed shock and renewed concern over safety in the city’s transit hubs. “It’s definitely very upsetting,” said one young New Jersey woman who frequently commutes to Manhattan.

Deleon’s criminal history includes at least seven prior arrests, mostly in New Jersey, involving aggravated assault, weapons possession, domestic violence, and drugs.

The investigation continues as victims recover and questions mount about how a suspect with such a violent record remained free to strike again in one of New York’s busiest transportation centers.