Northwestern State Football Player Ronnie Caldwell Shot and Killed, Game Postponed

The safety for the FCS's Demons was 21.

Ronnie Caldwell, a safety at Northwestern State in FCS's Southland Conference, was shot and killed Thursday morning in Natchitoches, La.. He was 21.

"The Northwestern State family has suffered a tremendous loss," Demons coach Brad Laird said in a statement. "Ronnie Caldwell was a young man who had a bright future ahead of him on or off the football field. He was our voice in the locker room. When Ronnie spoke, others listened. The respect our football team had for Ronnie was evident."

Today, we mourn the loss of junior safety Ronnie Caldwell.

📄 https://t.co/WH44AXZgR7 pic.twitter.com/1TL4ZUj4d7

— NSU Football (@NSUDemonsFB) October 12, 2023

Northwestern State's rivalry game against Nicholls, the NSU Challenge, was called off in the wake of the tragedy.

Per police, Caldwell was found shot near the university's campus just after 1 a.m. local time, and the investigation was ongoing.

Caldwell, who had not yet played in 2023 due to injury, saw the field in all 11 games for the Demons in 2022. An Austin native, he aspired to "create a health-focused business" per his Northwestern State bio.