The NYPD detective who survived an alleged Bronx robbery and was stabbed seven times by two migrants living in the United States illegally is expected to speak about his recovery during a news briefing at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Jose Mercedes, 33, has spent a decade with the NYPD. According to police, he was off duty and cleaning out the trunk of his personal car when two men attacked him from behind. Even after suffering multiple stab wounds, Mercedes pursued the suspects as they escaped on an e-bike.
Authorities identified the suspects as D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24. Investigators say the pair fled to Massachusetts, where they were eventually found hiding in a basement and arrested. Both remain jailed without bail and are expected to face attempted murder charges after being extradited to New York.
Detective Jose Mercedes was released from Jacobi Medical Center in Morris Park on Monday. He was wheeled outside before rising to his feet as a group of applauding officers greeted him. (NYPD)
Both suspects are Dominican nationals living in the United States illegally and have prior criminal records, News Media previously reported.
Caraballo was arrested in December 2024 but was released before Immigration and Customs Enforcement had an opportunity to submit a detainer request.
While Mercedes continues his recovery, the city is also facing scrutiny over a separate shooting involving ICE. Critics argue the incident might have been prevented if New York’s sanctuary policies had been replaced with measures they say place greater emphasis on public safety.
Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo, 25, left, and Sneider Mejia Bautista, 24, both Dominican nationals living in the United States illegally, are accused of attacking and stabbing off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes. (Department of Homeland Security; NYPD)
“Politicians are the ones who want to come up with these ridiculous laws because they are trying to just, you know, make their base happy,” said Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association. “They’re putting people in harm’s way.”
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national with a previous robbery arrest and pending drug charges in New York, is recovering after being shot in the neck. Authorities say he tried to evade ICE agents and accelerated toward federal vehicles that had been positioned to block his path.
Belgal survived the shooting, and the 5-year-old child who was inside his vehicle was not injured.
In footage from New York City Police Department body cameras, law enforcement officers assist the suspect after federal immigration officers shot him Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. Authorities said he was driving with a 5-year-old boy inside the vehicle. (New York City Police Department via AP)
The NYPD was not involved in the shooting. Still, critics used the episode to call for the dismantling of the department’s Strategic Response Group, a unit trained for crowd control, parade security and other specialized operations, Vallelong said.
“Calls were made to disband the Strategic Response Group even though they were in no way involved in the incident or its aftermath,” he said. Vallelong also criticized Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic Socialist congressional nominee, for claiming that NYPD officers working to maintain order at the hospital were “escalating” tensions by attempting to contain protesters.