******* rip - sean taylor :: killers caught (updated)

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MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Washington ******** safety Sean Taylor has died, a day after he was shot in the leg, said family friend Richard Sharpstein.

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Sean Taylor never regained consciousness after being taken to a hospital, says a family friend.

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He said Taylor's father called him around 5:30 a.m. to tell him the news.

"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 he did not know exactly when Taylor died.

Doctors had been encouraged late Monday night when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand. 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.

The 24-year-old ******** safety was shot early Monday in his home in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.
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Watch colleagues react to Taylor's shooting »

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 at the time, 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."

Taylor was shot at the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Taylor played at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003, and was also a high school standout in the city. His father, Pedro Taylor, is the police chief of Florida City.

Taylor starred as a running back and defensive back at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami.

Teammates and coaches often have portrayed Taylor as misunderstood, and that much was true. A private man with a small inner circle, Taylor became distrustful of reporters and anyone else he didn't know well. He rarely granted interviews, sometimes declining with a smile and a handshake and sometimes with a snarl that said: "Get out of my way."

But, behind the scenes, Taylor was described as personable and smart -- an emerging locker room leader.

Especially since the birth of his daughter Jackie.

"From the first day I met him, from then to now, it's just like night and day," ******** receiver James Thrash said. "He's really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It's been awesome to see that growth."

An All-American at the University of Miami, Taylor was drafted by the ******** with the fifth overall selection in 2004. Coach Joe Gibbs called it "one of the most researched things" he's ever done, but the problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the team.

Taylor was also fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006.

Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor's home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.

Taylor said the end of the assault case was like "a gray cloud" being lifted. It was also around the time that Jackie was born, and teammates noticed a change.

"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said ******** teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who also played with Taylor at the University of Miami. "But ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child."

On the field, Taylor's play was often erratic. Assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete he's ever coached, but nearly every big play was mitigated by a blown assignment. Taylor led the NFL in missed tackles in 2006 yet made the Pro Bowl because of his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.

This year, however, Taylor was allowed to play a true free safety position, using his speed and power to chase down passes and crush would-be receivers. His five interceptions tie for the league lead in the NFC, even though he missed the last two games because of a sprained knee. Teammates said he had overhauled his diet this year to include more fruit, fish and vegetables and less red meat.

"I just take this job very seriously," Taylor said in a rare group interview during training camp. "It's almost like, you play a kid's game for a king's ransom. And if you don't take it serious enough, eventually one day you're going to say, 'Oh, I could have done this, I could have done that.'

"So I just say, 'I'm healthy right now, I'm going into my fourth year, and why not do the best that I can?' And that's whatever it is, whether it's eating right or training myself right, whether it's studying harder, whatever I can do to better myself."

His hard work was well-noted.
"He loved football. He felt like that's what he was made to do," Gibbs said. "And I think what I've noticed over the last year and a half ... is he matured. I think his baby had a huge impact on him. There was a real growing up in his life." E-mail to a friend
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I feel horribly about everything that transpired. I have been a fan of Sean Taylor since his sophomore year at Miami. I was elated when the Skins eventuallydrafted him a few years back. He was by far my favorite player on the squad. His athleticism was ridiculous, and the sad thing about everything is it seemedlike this season he finally put it all together both on and off the field. He made mistakes in his life, but honestly who hasn't? This was a man who hadtruly changed, and anyone who follows Skins football saw the difference in him. I don't even know if I will be able to watch the news tonight with thecoaches, family, and player interviews. It's going to be too hard. I went to bed last night after hearing Pedro Taylor's interview outside of thehospital. He sounded upbeat and positive about everything that was going on with his son. That is a STRONG man right there. Before falling asleep, I keptthinking that even though ST had an uphill battle, everything was going to be alright. Driving to work this morning, I heard the news and my heart sank. For aguy who I didn't know personally, it really stung. God Bless his family. What happened to Sean Taylor really puts everything in prespective. Even some ofour heros are not immune to being victims of violent acts. I just hope that justice is served for whoever did this. He broke up a family, a father, a son, abrother, etc etc. How someone can have such little regard for human life is beyond me. I have faith in the Miami PD and whoever is doing the detective work,that they will do a dilligent job and apprehend whoever committed this crime. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

RIP
 
Rest in Peace Sean Taylor. My prayers are with his family, his lady and his little girl. This is really sad.
 
This is the result of the kind of stuff that corporate America will never understand. I could see if he were in a "shady" part of town acting a fool,but to be at your own home? With the robberies of Eddie Curry, Antoine Walker and now this, how can you not be aggressive in how you protect your house and thelives of you and your family.

R.I.P. and my condolences to his family, friends and other loved ones. Sad...
 
Originally Posted by Scott Scotch

This is the result of the kind of stuff that corporate America will never understand. I could see if he were in a "shady" part of town acting a fool, but to be at your own home? With the robberies of Eddie Curry, Antoine Walker and now this, how can you not be aggressive in how you protect your house and the lives of you and your family.

R.I.P. and my condolences to his family, friends and other loved ones. Sad...

Well Said bro....
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.. and the fact that he had a previous homeinvasion....To think that Karl Malone had the nerve to say a couple years back that he didnt see the need for athletes to protect themselves.....

R-I-P S.Taylor and continued prayers to your wife, child and family.....
 
Yeah this is real sad. I had a moment in the car on the way to work; just thinking about the world we live in, and how people get caught up into things, andhow the "have-nots" often want what you have...It's just sad man.

It's tough for me becuase I lost my close friend last fall and each day I fear I'll get the same phone call about my older brother that can't seemto shake the "street-life".
 
funny how the media is.

when he first got shot, all they talked about was his run ins with the law and how he as arrested for branding a loaded gun at someone and other infractionswith the law prior to this...


makes me wonder if this could be the making of an upset tampa fan. i mean he did spit in the face of a tampa player....
 
Originally Posted by Scott Scotch

This is the result of the kind of stuff that corporate America will never understand. I could see if he were in a "shady" part of town acting a fool, but to be at your own home? With the robberies of Eddie Curry, Antoine Walker and now this, how can you not be aggressive in how you protect your house and the lives of you and your family.

R.I.P. and my condolences to his family, friends and other loved ones. Sad...

But was anything taken from his home?
While I don't want to disrespect his memory with speculation, from what I've read it seems as if whoever entered his home had a mission to deal withhim directly.
 
I know this isn't what the focus should be about, but does this incident (even though it didnt happen here) wake anyone up to the reality that things canhappen anywhere and you need to protect yourself? I have a few shotguns and handguns housed in Pennsylvania where the goofy part of my family lives up inhunting country, but only have one handgun at home with me that I lock away just in case ... But now, I'm on the internet looking for gun safes that I cankeep in my room so the gun is more accessible ... It's f'd up that I've lived in the area all my life and this incident for some reason is makingme re-evaluate how safe I feel
 
when he first got shot, all they talked about was his run ins with the law and how he as arrested for branding a loaded gun at someone and other infractions with the law prior to this...


His lawyer/family friend was on the radio today (Sharpstein), and he said that the media portrayed Sean Taylor in one light, when in actuality he NEVERbranished a gun at anyone in the ATV incident etc. He gave a guy a beat down, but he was trying to reclaim stolen property. The reason the media had their waywith him was that ST was never a guy to defend himself publicly. He didn't trust the media, and they did their jobs as far as speculating who Sean Taylorwas. Those who know him and are in his inner circle, painted a portrait of a endearing young man, who was humble, quiet, and just a nice guy all around.It's too bad all of these great qualities only come out from the media in times of crisis.

While I don't want to disrespect his memory with speculation, from what I've read it seems as if whoever entered his home had a mission to deal with him directly.


that's the vibe I got as well. I mean his house was ransacked, but it didn't say if anything was indeed stolen. All I know (from reports) is that Iknife was left behind in one of the bedrooms. Whether that was a warning sign, I don't know. Also, according to ST's fiancee, the phone lines werecut....someone was out to get him.
 
still in disbelief really. my girlfriend and I who are die hard Skins fans are in total shock.

there will NEVER be another one like him.

Prayers to his family especially his daughter.

it's tough not to shed a tear for this situation.
 
ive NEVER been excited about one single ******* player as much as ST. id never bought a ******** jersey, until i got his rookie jersey #36. and it saddens methat we have not only lost our best player but also that we never really got a chance to know him. and that was probably his choice, but i just know God istaking care of him now.
 
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