palmetto bay

Redskins' Taylor in critical condition after being shot at home
By The Washington Post and McClatchy Newspapers

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JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES

An investigator stands in the yard of the home where an intruder shot Washington safety Sean Taylor in the upper thigh Monday in Palmetto Bay, Fla.




Sean Taylor made the Pro Bowl last season.
MIAMI ― Washington safety Sean Taylor remained in critical condition in a Miami hospital Monday night after being shot early in the morning in his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla.

Taylor squeezed a doctor's hand and made facial expressions early in the evening, team officials and a family friend said, providing hope after the 24-year-old emerged from seven hours of surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital that left him "unresponsive and unconscious" and doctors fearing possible brain injury or death, according to Taylor's attorney, Richard Sharpstein.

"He's doing better than when they first brought him to the hospital," said Donald Walker, who identified himself as a friend of Taylor's mother, in a telephone interview Monday night. "He's unconscious, but he's somewhat responsive, I guess you could say that. When the doctor asked him to squeeze his hand, he did it."

Donna Junor, Taylor's mother, said, "I am happy, I am hopeful, but I really don't know what else to say."

Taylor, 24, confronted one or more intruders early Monday morning at the bedroom door of the house he shares with his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter, and was shot in the upper thigh near the femoral artery, Sharpstein said.

The girlfriend 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 expressed concern his brain could have been damaged from lack of oxygen, Sharpstein said.

A team source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Taylor's heart stopped beating twice during surgery.

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

News of Taylor's situation spread quickly through the team's training facility in Ashburn, Va. Normal team activities were suspended and players were dismissed.

Coach Joe Gibbs and team chaplain Brett Fuller addressed the team around noon, informing them 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."


Taylor, the team's top draft choice in 2004 who was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time last season, was having his best season as a pro before suffering a knee injury Nov. 11 that forced him to miss the past two games.

No arrests were made.

In a statement, Miami-Dade police said a preliminary investigation indicated Taylor had been shot by an intruder.

Before Monday's shooting, Taylor was awakened by a noise in his living room, Sharpstein said. As the shooter or shooters approached Taylor's bedroom, he reached for a machete or other form of knife he keeps nearby in case of emergency, and two shots were fired, one striking his leg in the groin area, according to Sharpstein.

"This was a deliberate attack," said Cerrato, without elaborating.

Since Washington drafted Taylor, he has had several brushes with the law and NFL rules. Taylor was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault with a firearm for allegedly brandishing a gun in a Miami neighborhood in 2005.

Taylor reached a plea agreement and avoided jail time, but was fined $71,764 by the league for violating the personal-conduct clause of his contract.

The NFL also has fined Taylor for illegal hits, uniform violations and spitting on Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in 2005.

In the past two seasons, Taylor has earned praise from coaches and teammates for maturing and better work habits.
Palmetto Bay is located at 25°37′38″N, 80°19′15″W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 22.6 km2 (8.8 mi2). 22.5 km2 (11.8 mi2) of it is land and 0.1 km2 (0.04 mi2) of it (0.44%) is water.


[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 24,469 people, 7,970 households, and 6,783 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,082.7/km2 (3155.6/mi2). There were 8,145 housing units at an average density of 360.4/km2 (925.6/mi2). The racial makeup of the village was 84.4% White, 7.65% African American, 0.12% Native American, 3.00% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.44% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 27.32% of the population.

The median income for a household in the village was $64,114.23. The per capita income for the village was $25,998.16


[edit] Media
The Village of Palmetto Bay, FL. is served by the Miami market for local radio and television. The Village of Palmetto Bay has its own newspapers, The Palmetto Bay News, which is published weekly, and the The Palmetto Bay (Monthly), these papers are part of Miami Community Newspapers, the "Voice of the Community".