A 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a “senseless” broad-daylight Friday morning attack outside a Bronx public housing complex, according to authorities.
Caleb Rios was stabbed twice in the chest around 9:25 a.m. behind a building on East 138th Street near Lincoln Avenue, part of NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses in Mott Haven, cops said.
The vicious attack left the boy unconscious and unresponsive, and he was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
A friend of the family said his last words were “I can’t breathe.”
“It’s senseless. He’s not a kid from the street,” another family friend said hours after the murder. “It’s just senseless.”
She added that “there’s no words to describe how [Rios’ dad] feels right now.”
“He was quiet, to himself. Nothing,” the friend recalled of the slain teen. “None of this makes sense.”
The boy’s family declined to speak and requested privacy.
Meanwhile, a sign in the hallway of the 14th floor was altered with marker to read, “14 years old you move like a b—h.”
It’s unclear whether the vandalism was linked to Rios’ murder.
Police released surveillance images of a suspect in the vicious shooting Friday night as the boy’s killer remained on the loose.. No information was immediately available on a suspect or motive — though a family friend said he had heard it was over a phone.
“Over a f–ing phone,” the friend said. “He should have just gave the f–ing phone.”
Rios had no prior arrests, sources said.
The deadly attack follows a violent start to the year for the city’s teens — with 10 young people shot on New Year’s Day outside a Queens club, and a 17-year-old boy shot a day later outside his Brooklyn school.
A woman who lives near the scene of the Friday murder described teen violence as “the worst,” adding, “It’s what they’re learning.”
“When it comes down to children, it’s crazy,” the neighbor said. “Oh my God.”
“A lot of s—t be happening. It’s tragic,” added another local resident, Demi G. “It shouldn’t have to be like that — kids dying who don’t have time to explore the world.”
