The Energon Pub

MIAMI, Nov. 27 -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday from the gunshot wound he suffered a day earlier in his Miami home.

"He did not make it through the night," said Taylor's attorney, Richard Sharpstein, who called the incident "a ridiculous, unnecessary tragedy."

Taylor, 24, a defensive star whose rocky first years in the NFL had given way to what teammates called a newfound maturity, died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been taken after being shot once in the leg early Monday morning. Police are investigating the incident as a possible home invasion.

Sharpstein said he was informed of the death by Taylor's father, Peter "Pedro" Taylor, who called him around 5 a.m. with the news. He told CNN that the elder Taylor "was overwrought with grief and called me to tell me that Sean was with God . . . They're just overcome at this particular point with the loss of a son and father and friend and just an incredible person."

The bullet severed Taylor's femoral artery, causing massive blood loss. He underwent seven hours of surgery, and there were some initially optimistic signs after he emerged from the operation early Monday evening. Described at first as "unresponsive and unconscious," Taylor had squeezed a doctor's hand and made facial expressions, Redskins officials and a family friend said, providing some hope.

But the trauma proved too great. The bleeding "could not really be stopped, only curbed a bit," Sharpstein said.

Taylor died "a couple of hours ago" surrounded by some family members, family friend Donald Walker said shortly after 6 this morning. "Things turned for the worse," Walker said by phone from Taylor's mother's house. There "seemed like a lot of hope after he responded to the doctor's command. But he lost of a lot of blood."

Taylor confronted one or more intruders early Monday morning at the bedroom door of the house he shares with his fiancee and 18-month-old daughter, and was shot in the upper thigh near the femoral artery, Sharpstein said. The fiancee and child were uninjured, but Taylor lost significant amounts of blood and received a number of transfusions, according to Sharpstein and a source at the hospital.

No further surgical procedures were planned for Taylor, who was placed in intensive care, but doctors had expressed concern that his brain could have been damaged from lack of oxygen, Sharpstein said. A Redskins team source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Taylor's heart stopped beating twice during surgery.

"We'd heard [about the dire situation] and what they told us was to hope for a miracle," said Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato, who flew to Miami with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, running back Clinton Portis and other team officials on Snyder's private jet.

News of Taylor's situation spread quickly through Redskins Park, the team's training facility in Ashburn. Normal team activities were suspended and players were dismissed. Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs and team chaplain Brett Fuller addressed the club around noon, informing them that Taylor was fighting for his life.

"For all of us here, we're obviously in shock," a shaken Gibbs told reporters. "I know I can't put it into words."