Erika
11-27-2007, 07:41 AM
Redskins' Taylor Dies After Being Shot, AP Reports (Update1)
By Erik Matuszewski
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died after he was shot in the leg during a possible burglary at his Florida home, the Associated Press reported, citing family friend Richard Sharpstein. He was 24.
Taylor was found bleeding from a gunshot wound when officers responded to a call at his Palmetto Bay home just before 2 a.m. yesterday, Miami-Dade Police said.
Sharpstein, Taylor's lawyer, told the Miami Herald that the Pro Bowl player was shot after confronting burglars.
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said Taylor missed a team meeting after an attempted break-in at his house on Nov. 18. The fifth overall pick in the 2004 National Football League draft, Taylor didn't travel to Tampa Bay for the Redskins' Nov. 25 game because of a knee injury that kept him out the past two weeks.
Taylor, a Miami native who played college football at the University of Miami, had a team-leading five interceptions for the Redskins this season. In four seasons with Washington, he totaled 12 interceptions.
In 2006, Taylor was voted to the Pro Bowl after leading the team with 129 tackles.
In January, the NFL fined Taylor $17,000 for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game.
In August, he was fined four game checks -- a total of about $72,000 -- after he allegedly pointed a gun at a person during a confrontation over a stolen all-terrain vehicle in Miami. Taylor pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges in the case and was sentenced to 18 months probation.
Redskins running back Clinton Portis, who played with Taylor in college, told reporters on Nov. 26 that Taylor changed after the birth of his daughter last year.
``It was like a new Sean,'' Portis said.
Taylor signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the Redskins in 2004 after being selected an All-American and the Big East Conference's Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season at Miami. He played four seasons for the Hurricanes and in 2001 was one of just four freshmen to play for Miami during its national championship campaign.
According to the Miami Herald, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by noises in his $900,000 home. He grabbed a machete from under his bed and went to investigate when an armed intruder burst in the bedroom door and fired two shots, one of which hit the inside of Taylor's leg and pierced his femoral artery, the paper said.
Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, the Herald said. The gunman is still on the loose and Taylor's lawyer told the paper that nothing was stolen from the house. Sharpstein also told the Herald that the couple's baby was in the bedroom and slept through the incident.
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
Source: Bloomberg Media/AP
By Erik Matuszewski
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died after he was shot in the leg during a possible burglary at his Florida home, the Associated Press reported, citing family friend Richard Sharpstein. He was 24.
Taylor was found bleeding from a gunshot wound when officers responded to a call at his Palmetto Bay home just before 2 a.m. yesterday, Miami-Dade Police said.
Sharpstein, Taylor's lawyer, told the Miami Herald that the Pro Bowl player was shot after confronting burglars.
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said Taylor missed a team meeting after an attempted break-in at his house on Nov. 18. The fifth overall pick in the 2004 National Football League draft, Taylor didn't travel to Tampa Bay for the Redskins' Nov. 25 game because of a knee injury that kept him out the past two weeks.
Taylor, a Miami native who played college football at the University of Miami, had a team-leading five interceptions for the Redskins this season. In four seasons with Washington, he totaled 12 interceptions.
In 2006, Taylor was voted to the Pro Bowl after leading the team with 129 tackles.
In January, the NFL fined Taylor $17,000 for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game.
In August, he was fined four game checks -- a total of about $72,000 -- after he allegedly pointed a gun at a person during a confrontation over a stolen all-terrain vehicle in Miami. Taylor pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges in the case and was sentenced to 18 months probation.
Redskins running back Clinton Portis, who played with Taylor in college, told reporters on Nov. 26 that Taylor changed after the birth of his daughter last year.
``It was like a new Sean,'' Portis said.
Taylor signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the Redskins in 2004 after being selected an All-American and the Big East Conference's Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season at Miami. He played four seasons for the Hurricanes and in 2001 was one of just four freshmen to play for Miami during its national championship campaign.
According to the Miami Herald, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by noises in his $900,000 home. He grabbed a machete from under his bed and went to investigate when an armed intruder burst in the bedroom door and fired two shots, one of which hit the inside of Taylor's leg and pierced his femoral artery, the paper said.
Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, the Herald said. The gunman is still on the loose and Taylor's lawyer told the paper that nothing was stolen from the house. Sharpstein also told the Herald that the couple's baby was in the bedroom and slept through the incident.
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
Source: Bloomberg Media/AP