College football player Ronnie Caldwell -- a junior safety at Northwestern State University -- was shot and killed on Thursday morning in Louisiana, police said.
He was just 21 years old.
According to the Natchitoches Police Department, the tragic incident happened near NSU's campus -- which is about three hours away from New Orleans -- at around 1:08 a.m.
Police say they were dispatched to a street near the university after 911 callers reported gunshots in the area. When officers arrived, they say they found Caldwell suffering from gunshot wounds ... and he was later pronounced deceased.