Man charged for fatal stabbing of teen in Bronx, police say

Waldo Mejia. 29, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the Friday morning stabbing of Caleb Rijos, 14.

Police have arrested and charged a man in connection with the death of a Bronx teenager who was stabbed on his way to school on Friday morning, officials said on Saturday.

Caleb Rijos, 14, was on his way to Bronx Leadership Academy when he was stabbed twice in the chest in an unprovoked attack, police said, adding that he was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police arrested Waldo Mejia, 29, later that night and charged him with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, officials said.

Rijos' father listened on the phone as his son died, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.

“ He called his father and told his father that he couldn't breathe and that he was scared,” Clark said. “His father heard him dying.”

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said video of the incident showed Mejia approaching and stabbing Rijos as he stood alone on 138th Street. Kenny said Rijos then fled and collapsed between two parked cars.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Saturday that Mejia had “ a documented history of mental health interactions with the NYPD.”

“The systems that we have in place to deal with repeat offenders and individuals with severe mental health issues continue to fail us,” she said.

Tisch said police used images of Mejia to link him with another attack that also took place in the area earlier this month, in which a man was followed and slashed near the Third Avenue-138th Street station entrance.

Officials said Mejia was last arrested for stabbing a neighbor's doorbell camera with a kitchen knife in November 2024. He was charged with criminal mischief — a charge that is not eligible for monetary bail — and released on his own recognizance.

And in 2019, he was arrested for lighting a fire in the lobby of his ex-girlfriend’s building, according to a DA spokesperson, who added that Mejia was given a conditional discharge because there was minimal damage.

Police did not specify what mental health issues arose in their prior contacts with Mejia.

“When we're talking about people with serious mental illness, we need more resources to hold people accountable when they commit crimes and it's related to their mental illness,” Clark said. “ There's not enough secure facilities for them to get the help they need.”

NYPD statistics show there were 78 stabbings in the first week of January 2024 compared with 63 during the same time this year.