14-year-old calls dad as he’s dying from stabbing on way to school, NY officials say
A 14-year-old boy spent his last moments calling his father after he was stabbed while walking to school in an unprovoked attack, according to New York officials.
Caleb Rijos was walking to school in New York City the morning of Jan. 10, officials said at a Jan. 11 news conference.
Investigators reviewed video footage from the area which showed Caleb standing on the street, “minding his own business,” when a man, later identified as 29-year-old Waldo Mejia, randomly approached him and stabbed him twice, New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at the news conference.
He was stabbed in his heart and lungs, Kenny said.
“Caleb runs from his attacker, but falls down between two parked cars. Several New Yorkers come to his aid and they flag down a passing EMS ambulance,” Kenny said.
Caleb was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, but not before making a phone call.
“He called his father and told his father that he couldn’t breathe and that he was scared, and his father heard him dying,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said at the news conference.
Caleb was a “good student” and played football at the Bronx Leadership Academy, Clark said. She said the attack was random and unprovoked.
After the stabbing, officials sent out a photo of Mejia from video footage of the incident and an officer recognized him as the same suspect wanted in connection to another unprovoked stabbing that took place just a few days prior on Jan. 5 at a subway station.
“A male victim was approached from behind and unprovoked stabbed in the arm by an unknown male. We were quickly able to conclude that these two incidents were connected, unprovoked and committed by the same suspect,” Kenny said.
When Mejia was arrested, authorities found a bloody knife on him as well as gloves they said he was wearing at the time of the attack, Kenny said.
Mejia is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, Clark said. She said they are still investigating the Jan. 5 stabbing and charges may be filed in that case at a later time.
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 12:59 PM with the headline "14-year-old calls dad as he’s dying from stabbing on way to school, NY officials say."
