A 29-year-old man, Waldo Mejia, has been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Caleb Rios, who was fatally stabbed on a Bronx sidewalk Friday morning. Police arrested Mejia on Saturday, just a day after the horrific incident that took the life of the high school student.
According to authorities, Caleb Rios, a student at Bronx Leadership Academy and a football player, was on his way to school when he was attacked. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark described him as “a good student and a football player.”
The New York Police Department (NYPD) reported that officers were alerted to the scene around 9:25 a.m. by a passerby who discovered the teenager collapsed between two parked cars on East 138th Street. Surveillance footage revealed that Rios was “minding his own business on the sidewalk” when Mejia approached and “suddenly and unexpectedly” stabbed him in the chest, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny explained.
Rios suffered two stab wounds to the chest, piercing his heart and lungs, according to Kenny. After the attack, the teenager attempted to flee but collapsed nearby. Passersby rushed to his aid, flagging down an ambulance. Despite efforts to save him, Rios was pronounced dead at the hospital, told USA Today.
Mejia was located later at his home, just 750 feet from the crime scene. He was arrested without incident and was reportedly wearing the same clothes seen in the surveillance video. Officers recovered a “bloody knife” and white gloves that matched those worn by the suspect during the attack, according to Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“This morning, detectives arrested and charged Waldo Mejia for the senseless and heinous murder of 14-year-old Caleb Rios on a Bronx street Friday morning,” Tisch said during a press conference. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family for this incomprehensible loss.”
The Bronx DA called the killing “unfathomable” and revealed that Rios had managed to call his father in his final moments. “He called his father and told him he couldn’t breathe and that he was scared, and his father heard him dying,” Clark shared.
Officials revealed that Mejia has a criminal history, including four prior unsealed arrests, and a documented history of mental health issues. One prior arrest involved Mejia allegedly stabbing a neighbor’s Ring camera with a kitchen knife in November.
Mejia remains in custody without bond, facing charges of murder, manslaughter, and weapon possession. The tragedy has left the community mourning the loss of a promising young life.