Redskins' Safety Taylor Dies

MIAMI (AP) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after he was shot at home. He was 24. Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m." His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me, " said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

He said Taylor died early Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday.Doctors had been encouraged late Monday when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand, according to Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. But Sharpstein said he was told Taylor never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital and that he wasn't sure how he had squeezed the nurse's hand.

"Maybe he was trying to say goodbye or something, " Sharpstein said.Taylor was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.Miami-Dade Police were investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911. Taylor was airlifted to the hospital.

Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured."It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery, " Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."

The shooting happened in the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Eight days before the attack someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor's home, according to police."They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident, " Miami-Dade Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."

I am disgusted in the unnecessary violence we hear about in the news all the time. As a football fan and not just an Eagles fan, I am saddened. My prayers go out to his family, teamates, friends, and himself. A death of a football star hurts. Denver fans were hit hard with the losses of Darrent Williams and Damien Nash and this saddened me. The loss of Reggie White brought tears to my eyes. But this is a case where a father and future husband was innocently taken in the middle of the night in the safety of his own home. RIP dude. I bet every wide receiver still has nightmares of getting hit by you.- Roose

As a fan of the National Football League, it is always hard to see such a loss like this. Though Taylor wore that Burgundy uniform, he was always a great player. I still remember when I was 8 years old and I read that Jerome Brown was killed in a car accident during that June 1992. newspaper. Some of us can even remember Pelle Lindberg's car accident in 1985. Sean Taylor's death seems a little different. Someone intentionally attempted to take his life. He died in his own home with his 18 month old daughter and his girlfriend. From what I've read, Taylor completely turned a 180 on himself as a person. He had a rough past, but he had left that behind. We're all human. Rest in peace Sean Taylor. - Justin



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