A Bronx Man Charged with Murder in Fatal Stabbing of 14-Year-Old Boy
According to law enforcement sources, Waldo Mejia, a Bronx man, has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy, as reported by The Post.
Mejia is also facing manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon charges, the sources revealed.
The tragic incident occurred when Mejia, who did not know Caleb Rijos, stabbed the 14-year-old boy twice in the chest while he was standing on the sidewalk of East 138th Street near Lincoln Avenue on Friday morning, as per sources and police reports.
Following the attack, Rijos was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries, as confirmed by the authorities.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has scheduled a news conference on Saturday afternoon regarding the case.
Mejia is also believed to be responsible for a stabbing incident on January 5 at the Third Avenue and East 138th Street subway station in Mott Haven, during which a 38-year-old man was slashed in the left arm while standing on the steps, according to the sources.
After Rijos’ murder, an image of the assailant was obtained from surveillance footage and shared with law enforcement officers who are actively searching for the suspect, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny mentioned during a late Friday news conference.
Mejia, 29, has a history of prior criminal cases, including an incident in November where he allegedly used a kitchen knife to stab a neighbor’s doorbell camera, as per police sources.
He was previously arrested in The Bronx in April 2019 on burglary and arson charges after intentionally setting fire to the lobby of a residential building, the sources added.
In May 2017, Mejia was apprehended on criminal possession of weapons charges for being found with a pistol, and in January 2015, police caught him with a gravity knife, according to police sources. The outcomes of these cases are not immediately known.
