The Brief
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- Police say a suspect has been charged after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed and killed in the Bronx on Friday.
- The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Waldo Mejia, may have been connected to another unprovoked stabbing attack.
- Mejia has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter
The suspect, 29-year-old Waldo Mejia, has been charged with second degree murder, first degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
What we know:
According to police, 14-year-old Caleb Rios was standing on a corner outside the Mitchell Houses in Mott Haven on Friday morning when the attacker approached him and, unprovoked, stabbed him.
The teen was found unconscious and taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Subway stairs stabbing
During their investigation, police found video of the attack and released images of the stabber. An officer believed he recognized the suspect from another incident earlier in the week:
On Sunday, a 38-year-old man was randomly stabbed from behind on the subway stairs of the Third Avenue–138th Street station, according to police. The victim was stabbed in the arm and is expected to be OK.
Mejia has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2015, having been arrested four times for burglary, arson, possession of a gun and in 2024, when he was arrested for stabbing another victim’s Ring camera with a kitchen knife. He was released on his own recognizance the next day.
“The status quo is just not working for New Yorkers,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “We do not have a system that puts the right and needs of victims first.”
Murders were down 3.8%, with 375 this past year as opposed to 390 in 2023, but the city saw a 4.9% increase in felony assaults.
“While there were thousands fewer victims of major crimes—including shootings, murders, robberies, and other violent acts—in 2024, there is still much more work to be done to keep New Yorkers safe, to make them feel safe, and to improve their overall quality of life in the year ahead,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
