In the quiet city of Columbia, Missouri, the life of 21-year-old Brianna N. Hawkins, a White female, was tragically cut short on the evening of Sunday, January 4, 2026. The incident unfolded around 9 p.m. at the Greens apartments on Clark Lane, where a chaotic scene of violence left two others with life-threatening injuries. Hawkins, a resident of Fulton, was rushed to a local hospital where she ultimately succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the triple shooting
led Columbia Police to identify 23-year-old James Lamont Caldwell Jr., also of Fulton, as the suspect. In the wake of the incident, Caldwell was taken into custody. Boone County prosecutors have since charged him with a string of felonies, including second-degree murder for the death of Hawkins. The charges against him also include two counts of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, reflecting the serious harm inflicted upon the other two victims, one of whom was not only shot but also stabbed.
During his initial court appearance, which he attended via video, further details of the tragic night emerged. According to the probable cause statement, video footage from a neighboring apartment captured someone chasing and shooting at another individual. When questioned by police, Caldwell reportedly claimed that he had taken Xanax and his memory of the events was fragmented, only recalling waking up in the street with blood on his hands. One of the surviving victims was quoted in court documents pleading with an officer at the scene, "please help me, I don't want to die."
Caldwell, who has a prior criminal record, is currently being held in the Boone County Jail without bond, with prosecutors arguing that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the community. As the legal proceedings against him commence, the community is left to mourn the loss of a young life and grapple with the violent events that transpired. The Columbia Police Department's investigation remains ongoing, and they have encouraged residents with any information or doorbell camera footage to come forward to assist in piecing together the full story of that fatal evening.
