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Bronx man arrested, charged with murder in fatal stabbing of 14-year-old: sources

bronx-man-arrested,-charged-with-murder-in-fatal-stabbing-of-14-year-old:-sources
Bronx man arrested, charged with murder in fatal stabbing of 14-year-old: sources

A Bronx man has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy, law enforcement sources told The Post.

Waldo Mejia is also facing manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon charges, the sources said.

The accused killer did not know Caleb Rijos, who was standing on the sidewalk of East 138th Street, near Lincoln Avenue Friday morning, when he was stabbed twice in the chest, sources and police said.

Caleb Rios, 14, was standing on the sidewalk on East 138th Street when he was fatally stabbed.

Caleb Rios, 14, was standing on the sidewalk on East 138th Street when he was fatally stabbed. Family photo obtained by NYP

Image of the man suspected in two separate stabbings in The Bronx, provided by the NYPD

The NYPD released an image of the suspected attacker. DCPI

Rijos was taken to Lincoln Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries, cops said. 

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has called for a Saturday afternoon news conference in relation to the case.

Mejia is also believed to be responsible for a Jan. 5 stabbing in 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, the sources added.

After Rijos’ murder, an image of his killer was obtained from surveillance video and was blasted out to officers who are hunting for the suspect, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a late Friday news conference.

Fatal stabbing of 14 year old named Caleb Rios crime scene at 300 E 138st., Bronx.  NYPD investigate.

Caleb Rios was stabbed to death in a “senseless” attack in broad daylight, cops said. Robert Miller

Mejia, 29, has at least four prior criminal cases, including one from November in which he allegedly used a kitchen knife to stab a neighbor’s doorbell camera, police sources said.

He was arrested in The Bronx in April 2019 on burglary and arson charges after he intentionally set the lobby of a residential building on fire, the sources added.

In May 2017, Mejia was arrested on criminal possession of weapons charges when he was found with a pistol, and in January 2015 police caught him with a gravity knife, police sources said. The outcome of each case wasn’t immediately clear.

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