Shooting in New Rochelle kills 29-year-old father who was aspiring rapper
Life was turning around for James Caldwell Jr., his family said.
The 29-year-old New Rochelle resident was making strides as an aspiring rapper. And one of his siblings said the birth of his daughter a year ago had changed his whole outlook on life.
The dreams ended Wednesday evening when Caldwell was killed a few blocks from his Webster Avenue apartment.
Police received calls of shots fired just before 6 p.m. and found Caldwell lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds at Horton Avenue and Colonel Lee Archer Boulevard, New Rochelle police Capt. J. Collins Coyne said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.
"We're waiting for answers right now," Caldwell's sister, Dawne Greaves, said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. "It doesn't feel real....The whole family is heartbroken."
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Caldwell was the youngest of five siblings. Greaves said they all had a special bond but as the closest in age to him she would call him her twin. She spoke of how James made a connection with kids and adults alike and how he "lit up" any room he walked into.
She said he was working security and had overcome trouble in his life. That included a prison stint after an attempted armed robbery in Mamaroneck when he was 20.
She noticed how serious he had become following the birth of his daughter, Madison, last year.
"That girl was his whole heart," Greaves said. "He wanted so much for her and for himself also. He was (determined) to get it together."
Caldwell performed as "Boogie Nation" and his sister said he had been scheduled to perform in Bridgeport Thursday night.
In one song, "Blood on My Timbs" from December 2020, he bemoaned the loss of several friends to gunfire, including Kamal "Crazy" Flowers, who was shot by police six months earlier.
These were among the lyrics in "Roses," which he released last year.
"I always give 'em fire every record I'm on; give me my roses while I'm here, don't wait 'til I'm gone; so if you really love me, don't wait 'til I'm gone."
Coyne did not provide any details of the investigation, including whether detectives had any suspects.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call New Rochelle police at 914-654-2300.
It was the first homicide in New Rochelle in just over nine months. On Jan. 25, 16-year-old Julian Oliveros was shot to death near the intersection of Fourth Street and Washington Avenue. Tommy Rivera, also 16, was charged with second-degree murder and that case is awaiting trial.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: New Rochelle shooting kills James Caldwell, 29, near Horton Avenue
