Redskins Star Taylor Dies After Shooting

The Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died in hospital this morning after being shot at his home in Miami. Taylor, a first-round draft pick for the Redskins in 2004 and Pro Bowl alternate last season, had his femoral artery severed when he was shot in the leg during an apparent robbery.

He was airlifted to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment, but despite at one point squeezing a nurse's hand, never regained consciousness following heavy blood loss. His time of death has not yet been established, but Taylor's father phoned family friend Richard Sharpstein to confirm his passing at around 5.30am (10.30am GMT).

"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."

The Miami Herald reported Taylor and other occupants of the house heard intruders at the rear door before the shooting, while police have so far only confirmed the shooting was reported to them at 1.45am by a woman who said Taylor had been shot. "We've yet to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting," said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Kathy Webb. "[Taylor] was shot in the lower extremities. He was airlifted to Ryder Trauma [center at Jackson Memorial Hospital] in critical condition."

Taylor, who had made a career-high five interceptions so far this season despite being injured for the last two weeks, bought the four-bedroom home in Palmetto Bay, just south of Miami, for $900,000 two years ago. It had already been broken into 10 days ago, when police reports surmised that someone had entered through a front window before looking through Taylor's personal affairs and leaving a kitchen knife on a bed.

"They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident ... to see if there's any correlation," said Miami-Dade detective Mario Rachid.

Taylor himself was charged in 2005 with three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon and one count each of simple assault and simple battery following an incident where he was alleged to have waved a gun at a group of people he suspected of stealing his all-terrain vehicle. He could have faced up to 46 years in prison, but prosecutors dropped the more serious charges after he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor assault and battery charge In June 2006.

Nicknamed Meast - half-man, half-beast - by team-mate Marcus Washington, Taylor was renowned as a ferocious tackler and fiery character. He was ejected from a playoff game in January 2006 and fined $17,000 after spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman, but was reported to have mellowed after the birth of his daughter, Jackie, in May last year.

"It was like a new Sean," said Redskins running back Clinton Portis. "He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child." Coach Joe Gibbs, concurred, saying: "I could see in him a maturing process that you go through when you have your first child."

Around 50 fans had formed a vigil for Taylor outside Redskins Park last night before news broke of his death. Redskins wide receiver Keenan McCardell spoke for many of his team-mates at the time, saying: "We are numb. We don't know what to do right now."