Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after the Pro Bowl player was shot at home allegedly by an intruder.
Taylor died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been airlifted after the shooting on Monday.
Taylor, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft following an All-American season at the University of Miami, was shot in the upper leg, damaging the key femoral artery and causing significant blood loss.
“According to a preliminary investigation, it appears that the victim was shot inside the home by an intruder,” Miami-Dade County police said in a statement. “We do not have a subject description at this time.”
Taylor’s girlfriend told Police 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.
I suspect we are going to hear a lot more about this story in the coming weeks. It sounds like the intruder broke in to kill Taylor. It sounds more like a hit than a random home invasion.
Police have also said that eight days prior to the shooting, they were called to investigate reports about an intruder in Taylor’s home. The intruder had pried open a window, rifled through a drawer, and left a kitchen knife on the bed.
That sounds like a pretty clear indication that someone was looking to do Taylor harm. It’s quite possible he had a secret gambling problem and owed some unsavory people a lot of money.
-Chris Jones
