NYPD sources: Police search for local TikToker in connection to fatal stabbing
Police say Jonathan Melo was attacked around 4:30 p.m. outside 1337 Beach Ave. He was stabbed in the back and rushed to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
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A Bronx family is grieving the loss of a 17-year-old high school senior who was just weeks away from graduation, after police say he was fatally stabbed in Parkchester.
Raquel Melo said her son, Jonathan, never made it home.
"I want everybody to know my son was a really good kid," she said.
Police say the teen was stabbed in the back around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday outside 1337 Beach Ave. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Melo described her son as "the light of the family."
"He could do no wrong in my eyes," she said.
The violence has left neighbors shaken, as investigators work to determine what led to the deadly encounter.
NYPD sources tell News 12 a local TikToker may be at the center of the investigation. For weeks, groups of people had been gathering outside the man's apartment, appearing in videos trying to get his attention.
News 12 reached out to the man's attorney, who is also representing him in a rape case involving a child. The attorney confirmed their team has been contacted by the NYPD regarding the stabbing and said they plan to share more information "when the time is right."
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, and no arrests have been announced.
As the investigation continues, Melo hopes her son's killer will be behind bars.
"I hope that you pay for what you did," she said. "You broke a lot of hearts. You took my son's life. May God have mercy on you."
Jonathan leaves behind his parents, three siblings and a girlfriend. His family says they are determined to keep his memory and dreams alive.
