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Sean Taylor, a safety with the Washington Redskins, was unconscious and fighting for his life today after being shot by an intruder at his home south of Miami, the authorities and one of his lawyers said.

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Sean Taylor leads the Redskins with five interceptions this season.



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Schedule/Results Statistics | Roster Depth Chart | History Mr. Taylor's girlfriend, who was also in the house, reported the shooting to the police at 1:46 a.m. and Taylor, bleeding profusely, was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition, the authorities said.

Miami-Dade Police Department officials said they were still trying to determine the circumstances of the shooting. "We don't know if it's a burglary," said Mario Rachid, a police spokesman. "It's premature to speculate."

Richard Sharpstein, a defense attorney who represents Mr. Taylor, said the football player, his girlfriend and their 18-month-old daughter were in the master bedroom when they heard a noise in the living room. Taylor, 24, grabbed a weapon — which Mr. Sharpstein described as "a machete or something of that sort" — and was heading toward the bedroom door when someone burst through and opened fire with a pistol.

One bullet hit Mr. Taylor in the thigh and severed his femoral artery, and the other hit a wall, Mr. Sharpstein said. The baby and girlfriend, who was hiding under the bedsheets, were unhurt, he added.

Police and hospital officials, citing a request from Mr. Taylor's father, refused to release information about the nature of the football player's injury or his condition. But Mr. Sharpstein said in a telephone interview from the hospital that Mr. Taylor had "bled out profusely" and remained unconscious throughout the day in spite of surgery that lasted two to three hours.

"Doctors are worried whether he's going to make it or whether he'll be brain-dead," Mr. Sharpstein said. "They're worried about loss of oxygen to the brain."

He added: "It looks bleak."

Friends and family members from the Miami area, where Mr. Taylor grew up, gathered at the hospital to keep vigil and refused to speak to the media.

"The family is just huddled in prayer," Mr. Sharpstein said. "They're very, very concerned."

A contingent of players and officials from the Redskins organization, including the team owner Daniel Snyder, flew to Miami this afternoon to join Mr. Taylor's family and friends at the hospital, according to William Norman, the Redskins' director of public relations. Mr. Portis was also a college teammate of Mr. Taylor's.

Mr. Taylor, who is in his fourth season as a free safety for the Redskins, was selected fifth over all in the 2004 National Football League draft after starring for the University of Miami. The team signed him to a seven-year, $18 million contract, and he is widely considered one of the toughest and best young safeties in the league.

His fierce style of play has earned him the moniker "Tha Hitman." He was selected for the Pro Bowl last season and drew attention during that usually well-mannered post-season game by leveling a punter. In 2005, he was ejected from a playoff game for spitting on Michael Pittman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Although sidelined since spraining his knee during a Nov. 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Mr. Taylor leads the Redskins this season with five interceptions.

Mr. Taylor grew up in Florida and lives primarily in a sprawling, one-story house in Palmetto Bay, an affluent suburb south of Miami. His father, Pedro W. Taylor, is the chief of the Florida City Police Department, a municipality in southern Miami-Dade County about 15 miles southwest of Mr. Taylor's home.

This afternoon, Miami-Dade police investigators were combing for evidence in the yard and driveway of Mr. Taylor's pale yellow-colored house, which sat behind a six-foot white wall on a main road that runs past some of southern Miami-Dade County's grandest estates.

The incident was apparently the second time in eight days that someone had broken into Mr. Taylor's house. According to a Miami-Dade Police report, someone broke through a front window on Nov. 17, entered several rooms, rifled through drawers and a safe, then left a kitchen knife on a bed. No one else was in the house at the time, Mr. Taylor told police.

Investigators may be investigating whether there is any relation between these break-ins and a dispute two years ago between Mr. Taylor and some men in West Perrine, a depressed neighborhood near his current home.

In June 2005, Mr. Taylor was arrested and charged with felony assault and battery after the authorities said he pointed a gun at three men outside a house in West Perrine and accused them of stealing two all-terrain vehicles from him.

Witnesses told the police that Mr. Taylor, accompanied by an entourage, assaulted one of the men and made death threats before driving off. Minutes later, a group of men drove by his parked GMC Yukon Denali and opened fire, leaving the truck riddled with bullets. Mr. Taylor's vehicle was empty at the time, and the gunmen were never identified or arrested.

Prosecutors negotiated a plea deal with Mr. Taylor and agreed to drop the felony charges. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and pledged to donate time and money to various charities and schools in southern Florida.

Anthony Leon, a safety for Florida State University and one of Mr. Taylor's cousins, told The Miami Herald that Taylor was trying to clean up his social life and put distance on some of the people he grew up with.

"He's been trying to stay away from bad company — especially for his daughter's sake," Mr. Leon said.
Florida City, Florida
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City of Florida City

Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 25°27′05″N 80°29′04″W / 25.45139, -80.48444
Country United States
State Florida
County Miami-Dade
Established 1914
Government
- Type Mayor-Council government
- Mayor Otis T. Wallace
Area
- Total 8.3 km² (3.2 sq mi)
- Land 8.3 km² (3.2 sq mi)
- Water 0.0 km² (0 sq mi) 0%
Elevation 1 m (3 ft)
Population (2000)
- Total 7,843
- Density 940.6/km² (2,436.2/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 33034
Area code(s) 305
FIPS code 12-22975GR2
GNIS feature ID 0282605GR3
Website: http://www.floridacityfl.us

Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 8,363.[1]

The city lies to the west of, and is contiguous with, Homestead. Both cities suffered catastrophic damage in August 1992, when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida.

The city originated as a land promotion named Detroit. There were no buildings in the area when the first thirty families arrived in 1910, and they had to stay in Homestead until their houses could be built. The name was changed to Florida City when the town incorporated in 1914.[2] It has a small historic area, but much of the city is hotels and other tourist facilities.

The city is at the eastern end of the only road running through the Everglades National Park, which terminates at Flamingo. Florida City is the southernmost city in the United States which is not on an island. It is also the last stop on the mainland north of the Florida Keys.

Contents
1 Geography
2 Physiography & Natural History
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 References
6 External links



[edit] Geography
Florida City is located at 25°27′5″N, 80°29′4″W (25.451331, -80.484383).GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²), all land.


[edit] Physiography & Natural History
Florida City is situated mostly atop a limestone ridge called the Miami Rock Ridge[3] that extends south from present day North Miami Beach[4] to a location in Everglades National Park[5]. The ridge, consisting of Miami Limestone[6], serves as the higher ground within the community. The ridge extended from northeast to southwest across the city. The old location of the Florida East Coast Railway track marks the approximate boundary of the location of the limestone ridge south of Davis Parkway. The range of elevation of the ridge is from 5 to 8 feet above sea level.

Prior to settlement, the ridge was vegetated by South Florida Slash Pine trees, which were alternatively known as "Dade County Pine" (Pinus elliottii var. densa). (Remnants of these pines can be seen today in local parks and in Everglades National Park at the Long Pine Key picnic area.) These pine rocklands[7] were crushed by equipment and converted to farmland during the 1900s.[8] Tomatoes, squash, and other truck crops were grown in the area during the winter months and packed at the Florida City State Farmers' Market[9] near Krome Avenue and Palm Drive, driving the local economy throughout the 1900s.

East of the natural ridge was a broad area of marshlands surrounding the area. Old timers of Florida City called these coastal glades the "East Glade".[10] This was an extension of Everglades that extended from areas west and south of Florida City to its east. East of the East Glade, marshlands gave way to mangrove swamp[11] prior to reaching Biscayne Bay[12]. Soils in the East Glade primarily consisted of a limey soil called Biscayne Marl.[13]

Development schemes in the East Glade led to the construction of canals in the early 1900s.[14] This led to a lowering of water tables. Although development the East Glade was not extensive prior to the 1980s, agricultural development did occur. Potatoes were the primary crop grown in the East Glade prior to the construction of extensive housing developments within the areas annexed by the City of Homestead[15] in the late 1970s. Potatoes were mostly harvested from February to March.

Florida City was historically dissected by a slough. Sloughs were commonly found crossing the limestone ridge at a roughly perpendicular angle from Miami to Florida City. Florida City's slough (officially called "Long Slough" or "Long Glade Slough") entered the city near Redland Road and Lucy Street, and extended across the city to the southeast to a location near today's NW 3rd Street and NW 3rd Avenue. East of that point, the slough entered the East Glade.

Long Slough was a slow flowing body of water that originated in the Everglades just south of the Homestead General Airport[16]. As canals were constructed in the 1900s, and especially the 1960s, the slough was drained and became a low valley in the limestone ridge. Roadways (such as Redland Road near West Homestead Elementary School[17], NW 6th Avenue north of Davis Parkway, and NW 3rd Avenue about fifty feet north of NW 3rd Street) had culverts constructed under them to allow water to pass through the slough. NW 4th Street east of NW 5th Avenue dead ended near the approximate location where a fictional NW 4th Avenue would intersect that street. During the late 1980s the street was constructed to reach NW 3rd Avenue since water in the slough had been drained away. Eventually fill was added to the slough and it was destroyed.

Extensive filling operations were conducted in Long Slough near NW 3rd Avenue in the late 1970s. Fill was obtained as waste rock from a nearby rock cutting operation (utilizing Key Largo Limestone[18], a local coral rock) and was allowed to be dumped in the location by the landowners. Today, this portion of Long Slough serves as a housing development.

An additional natural feature existed along Davis Parkway, extending into the Florida City Camper Park. This feature was a live oak/tropical hammock[19]. The understory of the hammock was cleared for the camper park, but much of the hammock remained undistrubed to the south of Davis Parkway and NW 1st Road prior to the late 1970s.

Florida City today serves as the southern terminus of the Florida Turnpike[20]. Motels and eateries are located along US 1 prior to taking the highway south into the Florida Keys. Along with serving as the mainland entrance to the Florida Keys[21], Florida City also serves as the gateway to the main section of Everglades National Park[22].


[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,843 people, 2,247 households, and 1,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 940.4/km² (2,436.2/mi²). There were 2,541 housing units at an average density of 304.7/km² (789.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 29.05% White (7% were Non-Hispanic White,)[23] 56.67% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 7.06% from other races, and 6.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.12% of the population.

There were 2,247 households out of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 34.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.48 and the average family size was 3.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 39.7% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $14,923, and the median income for a family was $18,777. Males had a median income of $23,622 versus $20,060 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,270. 43.3% of the population and 41.7% of families were below the poverty line. 57.1% of those under the age of 18 and 25.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

As of the year 2000, English was spoken as a first language by 65.63% of the population, and Spanish by 28.33%, while French Creole was spoken by 6.03% of the population.[24]

As of 2000, Florida City had the sixty-sixth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 5.06% of the populace,[25] while it had the twenty-seventh highest percentage of Haitian residents in the US, at 6.7% of all the population (tied with North Lauderdale and Wilton Manors.)[26]


[edit] Education