The NYPD detective who survived a brutal stabbing carried out by two illegal immigrants spoke out for the first time on Tuesday, saying he thought he was going to die.
NYPD Detective Jose Mercedes was off duty and cleaning out the trunk of his car on the afternoon of Oct. 2 when Dominican illegal immigrant D’Angelo Caraballo, 25, and Sneider Mejia, 24, allegedly pulled up on an e-bike and attempted to steal his gold chain before stabbing him.
Speaking at a news conference in New York City, Mercedes recalled drawing on his experience as an investigator as he tried to stay alive.
“I realized I was bleeding a lot, I had lost a lot of blood and as I sat down I thought about other cases that I’ve investigated and I thought about what happens when you lose a significant amount of blood and I just wanted to stop moving so that I don’t lose more blood,” Mercedes, a Dominican immigrant, said.
“I wanted to provide 911 with as much information as possible so that I could get help from EMS, from the police and provide the best description that I was trained to provide,” he said.
Mercedes, a ten-year veteran of the NYPD, sustained ten stab wounds as he tried to fight off the illegal immigrants. While bloodied, he chased them for several blocks.
He said he identified himself as a police officer in both English and Spanish, but “they didn’t care.”
Mercedes thanked the first responders who saved his life and the investigators working on the case. He also said he wants to return to work when he recovers.
“I’m happy to be standing. Emotionally I feel happy to be alive. I want to get back to work whenever I fully recover. I don’t want to rush it. I don’t want to hurt myself. I just had surgery,” he said.
“I want to thank so many people. The first thing I want to do is thank God I have a second chance at life. And I want to thank so many, so many people.”
Mercedes also thanked a bystander who came to his aid.
“If we go back to that day, I want to thank that person that I asked for help and I haven’t spoke to him since but I want to thank that person that called 911 on my behalf. When I thought I was going to die, he came to me and called 911,” Mercedes said.
He then thanked the NYPD officers who responded, applied tourniquets to his arms, and cared for him, along with the medical personnel who treated him.
“I’m gonna be forever grateful to those people that day that saved my life.”
The suspects were on the run for five days before authorities found them hiding in the basement of a home in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Both suspects crossed the border illegally at different times and were released into the country under the Biden administration, Fox News previously reported.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had previously lodged a detainer for Mejia, but New York’s sanctuary policies allowed for his release, according to Fox News. Mejia was ordered deported last year.
In July, authorities arrested Caraballo on a menacing charge after he allegedly threatened to stab a person who rented him a room in the Bronx, according to the New York Post. He was also arrested last year on a firearm possession charge after he allegedly had a loaded .380 Taurus gun in his car.
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