It Started a Year Ago Tonight

It was just another night for us

One year ago today Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot in his suburban Miami home, by one of four men plus a getaway driver, one of them was dating Sean's stepsister and had seen Sean's house over the Thanksgiving weekend when the stepsister had a party there.

Not expecting anyone to be there they broke in at about 1:30 in the morning, when we woke up that Monday it was already in the news. But Sean, his fiancee Jackie and their 18 month old daughter Jackie were at home, all asleep in the same room.

Sean had sprained his knee in game nine of last season against the Eagles and missed game ten against the Cowboys and game eleven against the Buccaneers, all three games were losses. Sean had obtained permission to travel to Miami the weekend of the Tampa Bay game.

The burglars entered the house, Sean heard the noise and reached for the machete he kept under his bed. The youngest burglar, Eric Rivera, only seventeen at the time of the break in, is alleged to have panicked and fired into the bedroom.

The bullet struck Sean's femoral artery. The burglars left, Sean's fiancee called 911, there was confusion in the reporting if the cordless hardline phone was in working order, the call was eventually made on his cell phone.

Then Sean went into seven hours of surgery, a cadre of Redskins players and management flew Dan Snyder's jet to Miami and we waited to see what would happen.



Sean Taylor in his rookie year: nfl.com