Murder charge filed in shooting on Clark Lane that killed one and hurt two others

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Prosecutor's Office has charged a man with murder after a shooting that killed one person and left two seriously injured on Clark Lane in Columbia Sunday night.

Columbia police said Monday that one of the victims in the shooting, Brianna Hawkins, 21, of Fulton, died at a nearby hospital after being shot.

James Lamont Caldwell Jr., 23, was arrested Sunday and charged Monday with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree assault, the prosecutor's office said. His address in jail records is listed as Fulton. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond, though a mugshot was not yet available on Monday afternoon.

Police confirmed to ABC 17 News the shooting incident was domestic and that some victims were shot and stabbed. There were three victims total and all victims suffered life-threatening injuries.

Court documents say when CPD officers arrived to the 4800 Block of Clark Lane just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, they were approached by a victim who had been shot in the mouth. As they continued to toward the apartment, officers wrote they saw a second victim -- who court documents imply was Hawkins -- outside next to the sidewalk that lead up to the apartment with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police found the door of the apartment opened and covered in blood, the statement says. Upon entering, police wrote they saw James Caldwell Jr. standing over a third victim. Court documents say blood was smeared on the living room carpet and a black handgun with an bullet casings was on the floor. Police then took Caldwell into custody at the scene.

The documents then go on to say officers began giving life-saving measures on one of the victims, but didn't specify which. One victim told officer Katherine Guise "please help me, I don't want to die," and then named Caldwell Jr. as the suspect, according to court documents.

Officers on scene determined one of the victims was found to have both gunshot and stab wounds after a knife was found underneath their body.

Caldwell Jr. pleaded guilty in December 2022 to felony drug possession in Callaway County.

Police did not give the conditions of the other two shooting victims. Court documents say one of the victims underwent surgery at University Hospital and is currently in the intensive care unit at risk of dying from their injuries.

Sgt. Austin Nelson asked one of the victims who had shot while they were also receiving care at University Hospital. The victim was unable to speak, but court documents say the victim wrote "James Caldwell" on a piece of paper.

When interviewed by police, Caldwell Jr. said he did not remember or know anything, according to the statement. Caldwell allegedly told police he took a Xanax and the next thing he remembers is waking up in the street with blood on his hands.

Since Jan. 1, 2025, Columbia police have responded to 276 calls for disturbances, 13 assaults, 12 burglaries, seven calls for shots fired and 14 for shots heard on Clark Lane, according to dispatch logs.

Some residents in the area say violence is a continued problem.

"We heard a gunshot, multiple gunshots, like three to five gunshots," Greens at Columbia resident Abraham Asto said. "And then after that, we heard someone screaming so loud. So we're just very terrified."

Asto said when he heard repeated shots fired in the apartment nextdoor Sunday night, he and his roommates hid in the bathroom and called 911.

“Because we don't know what's going on. Maybe there's some stray bullets outside our window, our door. So we just need to protect ourselves,” Asto said.

When he learned three people had been shot and a 21-year-old woman died, he said more fear set in.

"I'm very, very terrified. And as well so sad. The violence here is too much," Asto said. "For now, I'm just so afraid to go outside because for me, it's not so safe at this time.”

He told ABC 17 around noon Monday that he was surprised he had not heard from apartment management about the incident.

“I'm expecting something from our management, from the Links, Columbia management, to give us some update or email probably of what's going on,” Asto said.

Management told ABC 17 it "could not provide a statement."

Asto said he will be moving.

“I’m gonna early vacate my unit because I feel not safe. That's the thing. Like if it's one door away from my bedroom or my house, it feels it's not safe for me,” Asto said.

After a weekend of violent crime, Columbia city leaders are sharing their thoughts and how they plan to continue to deter crime in the city.

The city's Office of Violence Prevention says it continues its efforts to identify root causes of crime before it happens, especially in youth.

"We're working on a ecosystem of care that goes into place when we're looking at what the causes are, what is the physic of the individuals doing the acts of the violence. what are the resources they are accessing, who has access to them," DaMarkus Thomas Brown with Columbia's Office of Violence Prevention said.

"When I see the incidents involving youth you're seeing the trends victims and assailants are getting younger, advocacy at the state level when we talk about minors in possession of firearms is something we want to advocate for so we don't have gray areas when we enforce laws," Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said.

According to Buffaloe crime in Columbia is down according to 2025 numbers. However she says the numbers are not finalized yet but they show a decrease in crime and crime against property.

Although there a decline in crime numbers, the city says it recognizes the increase in crime involving youth.

"When I see the incidents involving youth we're seeing the trends in victims and assilants are getting younger, advocacy at the state level when we talk about minors in possession of firearms is something we want to advocate for so we don't have grey areas when we enforce laws," Buffaloe said.

 The shooting at the Green's Apartment Complex and Dick's Sporting Goods happened in different parts of the city. Buffaloe said the city is taking a proactive approach.

"We look at where there are hotspots where incidents are happening there are incidents of crime that can happen anywhere around the city we look to people to be proactive for some of the incidents whether its domestic violence or youth involved we need to find other ways to influence that and deter it," Buffaloe added.

Other ways to deter crime, Buffaloe says the city needs to continue to invest in resources.

"Both the recent abduction and then also this week's incident at dick's sporting goods you saw the use of tools and resources that we just invested in last year that flock camera system is how we were able to find and arrest those people so I think we continue to invest in it," Buffaloe noted.

The city is beginning to work with the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform to conduct a gun violence analysis. The Columbia City Council will discuss the analysis at it's next meeting on Jan. 20th.