The NYPD detective who survived an alleged robbery attack in the Bronx, during which two men accused of being in the country illegally allegedly stabbed him seven times, is expected to speak about his recovery at a 2 p.m. news briefing Tuesday.
Jose Mercedes, a 33-year-old detective who has served with the NYPD for 10 years, was off duty and cleaning the trunk of his personal vehicle when two men allegedly attacked him from behind, police previously said. Despite suffering multiple stab wounds, Mercedes pursued the suspects before they escaped on an e-bike.
The suspects, identified as D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, allegedly fled to Massachusetts. Authorities later arrested them at a basement hideout. They are being held without bail and are expected to face attempted murder charges after being extradited to New York.
Detective Jose Mercedes was wheeled out of Jacobi Medical Center in Morris Park on Monday before rising to his feet in front of a group of applauding officers. (NYPD)
Both men are Dominican nationals who are in the United States illegally and have criminal records, News Outlet previously reported.
Caraballo was arrested in December 2024 but was released before Immigration and Customs Enforcement could file a detainer request.
While Mercedes continues to recover, the city is also facing criticism over an unrelated shooting involving ICE agents. Critics argue the incident might have been prevented if local officials had moved away from sanctuary policies and placed greater emphasis on public safety.
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Dangelo Rafael Jean Caraballo, 25, left, and Sneider Mejia Bautista, 24, both Dominican citizens living illegally in the United States, are accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes. (Department of Homeland Security; NYPD)
“The 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 from a gunshot wound to the neck. Authorities said he allegedly tried to flee ICE agents and accelerated toward federal vehicles that had been positioned to block him.
Belgal survived the shooting, and a 5-year-old child who was inside his vehicle was unharmed.
In this image taken from New York City Police Department body camera video, law enforcement personnel tend to the suspect, who was shot by federal immigration officers on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York, as he drove his car with a 5-year-old boy inside. (New York City Police Department via AP)
Although the NYPD was not involved in the shooting, critics cited the incident while calling for cuts to the department’s Strategic Response Group, a unit trained for crowd control, parade security and other special 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. “Darializa Avila Chevalier, the unhinged Democrat Socialist Congressional nominee, ranted that NYPD personnel trying to keep order at the hospital where the criminal was being treated were ‘escalating’ the situation by trying to contain rampaging protestors.”
