A Saturday afternoon confrontation at the downtown WeGo bus station in Nashville ended with 16-year-old Braden Caldwell shot and killed. Caldwell was on the second story of the station on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, when a physical altercation with another teenager escalated and two gunshots were fired. He was taken to Vanderbilt Pediatrics and pronounced dead.

Investigators worked with Central Precinct officers and WeGo security to identify a suspect. Security personnel recognized the individual, who fled toward 5th Avenue North but was located and arrested at his University Court home before 7 p.m. that same evening. The suspect, 15-year-old Shamari Bailey, is a student at McGavoc High School and was charged with criminal homicide; the matter is being handled in Juvenile Court. Caldwell attended Johnson Alternative Learning Center.

Friends and regular riders raised safety concerns about the bus station after the shooting. A friend said he and Braden often made rap music together and that Braden had not been frequenting the downtown station recently.

If anyone knew Braden or witnessed the incident at the WeGo station, please share what is known.