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Illegal aliens wanted by ICE identified as suspects in off-duty NYPD cop slashing attack

Story by Joe Marino, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
• 2h • 3 min read

The two thugs accused in the cowardly slashing of an off-duty NYPD detective are both illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic who snuck in under former President Joe Biden, according to sources and reports.
Police Detective Jose Mercedes was grabbing items out of the trunk of his car at Rochambeau Avenue and East 208th Street in Norwood in The Bronx around 1:45 p.m. Friday when the brazen pair pulled up on an e-bike.
The criminals tried to snatch the cop’s gold chain, but Mercedes tried to fight back and was slashed seven times by the violent muggers, who sped off and left the detective bleeding on the sidewalk, police said.



D’Angelo Caraballo and Sneider Mejia are wanted in connection with a robbery are shown in this handout photo released by the New York City Police Department. DCPI



NYPD Det. Jose Mercedes was slashed during a botched robbery attempt at 3176 Rochambeau Ave. in the Norwood section. Obtained by NY Post

Mercedes, who is assigned to the 44th Precinct in The Bronx, was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center and was listed in stable condition after the broad-daylight attack, the department said.
Police identified the suspects Tuesday in the midst of a massive manhunt for them.

The suspects were caught on surveillance video near the scene of the crime, with the driver speeding down the sidewalk and his passenger and suspected stabber sitting shirtless behind him.
The accused slasher was identified as 25-year-old D’Angelo Caraballo, while the suspect behind the wheel of the bike was ID’d as Sneider Mejia, 24.
Mejia crossed the US border with Mexico in Arizona on Dec. 2, 2022, and was nabbed by border patrol agents but released into the country, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported.
Mejia was arrested in the Bronx on a gun possession charge last year but was released despite an ICE detainer to hold him, Melugin added.



Mercedes, who was slashed in the Bronx on Friday, Oct. 2, is seen in a video posted to social media. Instagram/Ali Buckets

Caraballo was detained after crossing the border at Arizona on Dec. 2, 2023, but was released with a future court date — and disappeared.
He has two prior arrests — a menacing rap for allegedly threatening to stab a person who rented him a room in the Bronx in July and a 2025 gun possession charge for allegedly lugging a loaded .380 Taurus gun in his car, sources said.
Mercedes’ uncle, aunt and nephew were at his hospital bedside Saturday.



Suspect Sneider Mejia, 24, an illegal alien who has a pending detainer issued by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Obtained by NY Post

“We want the justice system to ensure the police do their job effectively, but the courts go too easy on them, sending criminals right back out on the street,” Ricardo Mercedes, the cop’s frustrated uncle, told The Post. “We want a tough stance from the justice system.
“The police catch them, but then they’re let go — right back out on the street,” he added. “That is what we want to change.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch also visited the cop at the hospital.
Mercedes was released from the hospital Monday, giving a thumb’s up to the crowd of cops gathered to see him leave.



New York Police Department Crime Scene Unit members collect evidence near the scene of the attack on Oct. 2, 2026. James Keivom for NY Post

The officer, who joined the force in July 2016, was the first police officer in his family, and has inspired other kin to follow suit, his uncle said.
The attack on the cop comes just weeks after a maniac chucked a glass bottle at an NYPD cop’s head at a Queens public housing complex — with the suspect locked up last month.

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In May, an FDNY firefighter allegedly punched an on-duty NYPD police officer in the face while suffering a mental health crisis inside a Queens hospital this week, prosecutors and sources said.
Earlier in the year, an unruly mob of rowdy winter warriors pummeled New York’s Finest at Washington Square Park, throwing snowballs in a chaotic scene caught on video.

Illegal aliens wanted by ICE identified as suspects in off-duty NYPD cop slashing attack