Man charged in fatal stabbing of 14-year-old boy on New York City sidewalk
In what police are calling a senseless and unprovoked attack, a man was arrested over the weekend in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy while he walked to school in New York City last week.
The New York Police Department arrested 29-year-old Waldo Mejia Saturday in connection to what authorities said was a random attack on Caleb Rios Friday morning along a Bronx street.
Caleb attended high school at the Bronx Leadership Academy, "was a good student and a football player," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said during a Saturday news conference announcing the suspect's arrest.
Clark called killing "unfathomable" and offered condolences to Caleb's loved ones.
"He called his father and told his father he couldn't breathe and that he was scared, and his father heard him dying," Clark said.
Police, who called the suspect "a violent recidivist with a documented history of mental health interactions with the NYPD" announced Mejia's arrest Saturday during a press conference.
Mejia, who police said lives in the Bronx, remains jailed without bond on murder, manslaughter and weapon charges, officials confirmed to Paste BN Monday.
'A fine young man'
During the press conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch called the victim "a fine young man."
Tische said Mejia is a career criminal with "four prior unsealed arrests" including one that took place when he allegedly stabbed a neighbor's Ring camera with a kitchen knife on Nov. 27. He was released on his own recognizance the next day, Tische said.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family for this incomprehensible loss," the department posted in a statement on X Saturday. "The systems we have in place to deal with repeat offenders and individuals with severe mental health issues continue to fail us."
14-year-old victim suffered stab in heart and lungs
On Friday, about 9:25 a.m., police said, a passerby alerted officers after discovering the boy collapsed between two parked cars on East 138 Street.
Police said surveillance video in the area shows Caleb was "standing on the street minding his own business on the sidewalk" when he is approached by a male "who suddenly and unexpectedly stabs him in the chest," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.
Caleb suffered two stab wounds to the chest, one to the heart and one to the lungs, Kenny said.
After being stabbed, he ran from his attacker but but collapsed between two cars. Several New Yorkers came to his aid and flagged down a passing ambulance, Kenny said.
The boy was rushed to a hospital where doctors pronounced him dead, the commissioner said.
Suspect found at home with bloody knife
Images of Mejia captured on surveillance footage the day of the killing, were circulated and recognized by an officer as the same person of interest from a wanted flyer for a Jan. 5 stabbing. During that unprovoked assault, a 38-year-old man was stabbed in the arm entering a subway station in the Bronx.
Officers responded to the suspect's home, about 750 feet from the crime scene, obtained footage from the same ring camera he stabbed weeks prior, and saw him leaving his residence a few minutes before Friday's stabbing.
Just after midnight Saturday, officers approached him and detained him without incident.
"He wore the same sneakers and pants he wore during the homicide, and was in possession of a knife," Tisch said.
Officers recovered the "bloody knife", and a pair of white gloves the suspect is seen on video wearing during the killing, Kenny said.
What is Waldo Mejia's arrest history?
Mejia's most recent arrest took place Nov. 27 when, Kenny said, Mejia stabbed a neighbor's Ring camera with a kitchen knife. He was released on his own recognizance the next day, police said.
In 2019, the NYPD arrested Mejira on burglary and arson charges after police said he lit another victim's residence on fire.
In 2017, NYPD officers arrested Mejia after they found him in possession of a loaded 9mm gun, and in 2015, police reported, he was arrested for being in possession of a knife.
It was not immediately known Monday whether he had obtained an attorney or when he is due in court next on his most recent arrest.
This story has been updated.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.