TAMPA, Fla. — Former NFL player Reche Caldwell was shot and killed in Tampa on Saturday, according to his mother Deborah Caldwell.
Tampa police said at 10:57 p.m. on Saturday, they were dispatched to the 3600 block of E. Hanna Ave. for a report of a shooting.
When officers they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound in the front yard of the home. Tampa Fire Rescue arrived and transported the victim to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police said this does not appear to be a random incident.
Deborah Caldwell, Reche Caldwell's mother, says her son was killed in the shooting.
"Reche is not the type of you man who would be involved in something like this," Deborah Caldwell said.
She said Reche and his girlfriend were about to leave, when his girlfriend returned to the house to get a jacket.
Detectives told Deborah they suspect Reche may have been ambushed by someone hiding in nearby bushes. However, no details were released on why detectives thought that, she said.
Deborah said Reche died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He was 41.
She said her son is a good young man who had taken a young rapper under his wing to help him succeed. Her son's death is particularly difficult at a time when Black Lives Matter is at the forefront of the national conversation. She said words can't describe her pain at this time.
Caldwell was a Tampa native and attended Thomas Jefferson High School and played football for the University of Florida.
Caldwell was drafted in 2002 by the San Diego Chargers and later played for the New England Patriots and the Washington Redskins, according to 247Sports.
Yahoo! Sports reports Caldwell entered a guilty plea for a role in a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud case involving 12 other NFL players in January 2020.
Prosecutors say the group is accused of filing $4 million worth of false insurance claims over a period of 18 months from the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account plan.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or report anonymously online.
This story was originally published by staff at WFTS.
