Redskins Safety Sean Taylor Dies After Being Shot in His Home
By Aaron Kuriloff and Curtis Eichelberger
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early yesterday morning, a day after he was shot in the leg during a possible burglary at his Miami home. He was 24.
The Pro Bowl National Football League player was found bleeding from a gunshot wound when officers responded to a call at his Palmetto Bay home just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 26, Miami- Dade Police said. The bullet pierced his femoral artery, according to the Miami Herald.
``Many of his fans loved him because of the way he played football,'' his father Pedro Taylor said in a family statement. ``Many of his opponents feared him the way he approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many appreciated him and his family loved him.''
Fans began arriving at the team's training facility in Ashburn, Virginia, at about 5 a.m. and held a candlelight service last night. Laid at the base of a tree near the entrance of Redskins Park Drive was a memorial that included flowers, cards, candles and a board with pictures of Taylor and signatures of fans.
``The thing about Sean Taylor is the mystery of him,'' said fan John Corro, a 26-year-old from Falls Church, Virginia, who was dressed in a Taylor jersey. ``That's what's so compelling. Whenever a tragedy happens to a team and you're a fan, you can really feel it. I was just compelled to be here.''
The Redskins painted a 21, his uniform number, in white with gold trim on the grass near the entrance to the complex and on a plaza at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, where the team plays its home games. They are also planning a memorial near the stadium and will remember him on team jerseys and helmets.
``I think Sean felt like God made him to play football,'' Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said at a press conference. ``He was one of those guys who felt this is where he belonged.''
Shot at Home
A preliminary investigation suggests that Taylor was shot inside the home by an intruder, said Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a police spokesman. Investigators have no description of the suspect and are asking for the public's help.
Taylor's girlfriend and daughter were in the house during the shooting and weren't injured, Zabaleta said. Police found signs of forced entry and are trying to determine if it occurred the night of the shooting or during a previous break-in at the house on Nov. 18.
Gibbs said Taylor missed a team meeting after the previous break-in. 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.
Heard Noises
According to the Herald, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by noises in his four-bedroom, $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, the newspaper said.
Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, the Herald said. The gunman hasn't been caught and Taylor's lawyer told the paper that nothing was stolen from the house.
Taylor died at 3:30 a.m., police said.
``I went to bed thinking at worst, he'd have to deal with an extended recovery,'' offensive lineman Pete Kendall told reporters yesterday at the Redskins' training facility. When asked if he wanted to play this weekend's game against the Buffalo Bills, Kendall said: ``I don't know. I don't know what the group mindset is. I want to process what's going on.''
It's really upsetting. Not really the article, but this whole ordeal... I named a puppy after him...
By Aaron Kuriloff and Curtis Eichelberger
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early yesterday morning, a day after he was shot in the leg during a possible burglary at his Miami home. He was 24.
The Pro Bowl National Football League player was found bleeding from a gunshot wound when officers responded to a call at his Palmetto Bay home just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 26, Miami- Dade Police said. The bullet pierced his femoral artery, according to the Miami Herald.
``Many of his fans loved him because of the way he played football,'' his father Pedro Taylor said in a family statement. ``Many of his opponents feared him the way he approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many appreciated him and his family loved him.''
Fans began arriving at the team's training facility in Ashburn, Virginia, at about 5 a.m. and held a candlelight service last night. Laid at the base of a tree near the entrance of Redskins Park Drive was a memorial that included flowers, cards, candles and a board with pictures of Taylor and signatures of fans.
``The thing about Sean Taylor is the mystery of him,'' said fan John Corro, a 26-year-old from Falls Church, Virginia, who was dressed in a Taylor jersey. ``That's what's so compelling. Whenever a tragedy happens to a team and you're a fan, you can really feel it. I was just compelled to be here.''
The Redskins painted a 21, his uniform number, in white with gold trim on the grass near the entrance to the complex and on a plaza at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, where the team plays its home games. They are also planning a memorial near the stadium and will remember him on team jerseys and helmets.
``I think Sean felt like God made him to play football,'' Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said at a press conference. ``He was one of those guys who felt this is where he belonged.''
Shot at Home
A preliminary investigation suggests that Taylor was shot inside the home by an intruder, said Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a police spokesman. Investigators have no description of the suspect and are asking for the public's help.
Taylor's girlfriend and daughter were in the house during the shooting and weren't injured, Zabaleta said. Police found signs of forced entry and are trying to determine if it occurred the night of the shooting or during a previous break-in at the house on Nov. 18.
Gibbs said Taylor missed a team meeting after the previous break-in. 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.
Heard Noises
According to the Herald, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by noises in his four-bedroom, $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, the newspaper said.
Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery, the Herald said. The gunman hasn't been caught and Taylor's lawyer told the paper that nothing was stolen from the house.
Taylor died at 3:30 a.m., police said.
``I went to bed thinking at worst, he'd have to deal with an extended recovery,'' offensive lineman Pete Kendall told reporters yesterday at the Redskins' training facility. When asked if he wanted to play this weekend's game against the Buffalo Bills, Kendall said: ``I don't know. I don't know what the group mindset is. I want to process what's going on.''
It's really upsetting. Not really the article, but this whole ordeal... I named a puppy after him...
