Gunshot victim back at school with scar, trophy

Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 29, 2005 at midnight

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A shy and modest Ricardo Caldera returned to school early this month only to be bombarded by classmates hungry to see the scar that a bullet fired during a home invasion robbery left on his back.

The unassuming 9-year-old repeatedly lifted his shirt to satisfy the children's curiosity but never bragged about the bullet he took while shielding his 4-year-old brother.

"He showed a few the bullet hole," Edna Bottger, the boy's fourth-grade teacher, said. "(But) he seems pretty serious when he shows it to them. He doesn't act proud."

On Monday, in front of about 250 of his peers at Oakland Elementary School, the same unassuming boy received a trophy "for being a hero." The event was designed to teach youngsters about courage and standing up for themselves.

Reggie Robinson, the school's principal, said Ricardo's actions made the school "very proud."

"You protected your brother. . . . You are a real brave hero that does things to help other people," Robinson said, as Ricardo was handed a blue and gold trophy.

At 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 26, Rosa Caldera, 33, the boy's mother, heard a loud bang at the front entrance of the home in the 4700 block of Frankfort Way in Montbello.

She immediately rushed toward the front door, and Ricardo and his little brother Esteban, 4, followed her.

"I thought something had fallen and broken," she said in Spanish. But all she saw, she said, were two masked men, one carrying a gun, attempting to break into the house.

Caldera said she told the youngsters to return to their room in the basement for safety, and she yelled for her husband to wake up.

"That's when I heard a gunshot," she said, adding that Ricardo later told her he remained crouched in the room, hugging his little brother when the gun was fired.

A bullet, believed to be a .22 or .32 caliber, pierced through the youngster's back and moved through the front side of his lower torso.

Family and police have said the gunman fired into the window of the youngsters' bedroom as the suspects attempted to flee.

"He lifted his shirt and told us he was shot," the mother said. Doctors told the family that the bullet did not damage the boy's organs.

Both the family and police have said they are not sure why the family's home was targeted.

Sonny Jackson, a spokesman for the Denver Police Department, said the suspects remain at large.

"This was a very unfortunate incident," Jackson said. "We're very grateful he (Ricardo) was able to protect his brother."

The boy's uncle, Gustavo Caldera, shortly after the incident said his nephew demonstrated tremendous courage and strength.

Rosa Caldera said she and her family, who have lived in that house for nearly eight years, have not stayed in the home since the shooting.

"He's afraid to be in the house," she said of her wounded son. "We have to be with him in every room when we return to get something."

Bottger, Ricardo's teacher, described Ricardo as a sweet, quiet and hardworking student who was able to get back into the groove of school after the incident.

"We just want to celebrate the fact that he (Ricardo) is here with us," Bottger said.

ramirezr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5067

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