Baltimore lab tech killed in drug clinic shooting worried for his safety, family says

David Caldwell had warned his family before: “If something happens to me, it’s probably gun-related,” his brother-in-law Layne Keatts Sr. remembers him saying.

His dark prediction came true. A gunman demanding methadone fatally shot Caldwell on Monday at a Baltimore drug clinic before being killed in an exchange of gunfire with police, according to officials. Baltimore police Sgt. Bill Shiflett and another employee of the clinic, whose name has not been released, were injured in the incident.

Caldwell worked at LabCorp for eight years as a phlebotomist drawing blood and collecting urine samples. He bounced from location to location and had been stationed at Man Alive methadone clinic for the past several years. And he was concerned for his safety.

His niece Stephanie Weigman remembers her uncle had asked for a closer parking spot. He didn’t feel safe walking in a neighborhood he said was riddled with drug and gang activities, Weigman said.

Caldwell’s sister, Charlene Weigman, described her brother as a loving and caring person who had an affinity for dogs. The 52-year-old lived in the 500 block of Parksley Ave. He fostered and adopted dogs and leaves two behind in his Gwynns Falls neighborhood home, Weigman said.

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He was also a “workaholic,” his brother-in-law said. Caldwell has always worked in the medical field and “dedicated his career to helping others,” family said.

“He was a great guy,” Keatts said. “He was the kind of guy who would do anything for anybody and he deserved a lot better.”

At a news conference outside Shock Trauma on Monday afternoon, police named Shiflett as the injured officer.. A few hours later police then named Christopher Miller as the officer who pulled Shiflett to safety after the shooting. Keatts said his family knew Shiflett, as they ran in the same circle growing up in Baltimore’s Pigtown neighborhood.

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Two women embrace in an alley behind the Man Alive drug treatment center on Maryland Avenue shortly after a shooting. Baltimore police say an officer and at least one other person, the suspect, were shot at the center. (Jerry Jackson / Baltimore Sun)

Baltimore Police said they release victim names after the family has been notified. Spokesman Det. Jeremy Silbert also pointed to the news conference at Shock Trauma and another held Tuesday where after Police Commissioner Michael Harrison spoke with reporters about the case.