NFL Player Shot, In Critical Condition
Jaguars' Richard Collier Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries
POSTED: 8:18 am EDT September 2, 2008
UPDATED: 11:06 am EDT September 2, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Authorities said Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier has been shot and is facing life-threatening injuries.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Collier and former Jaguars player Kenneth Pettway were outside an apartment early Tuesday waiting for some women they met at a club when a gunman shot into their car.
Sheriff's spokesman Ken Jefferson said Collier was shot several times but it's not clear where he was injured.
Collier was in critical condition at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, a hospital official said. The motive behind the attack was unclear, and the sheriff's office was investigating. Pettway, who was released in final cuts Saturday, was not injured in the attack.
The shooting happened around 2:45 a.m. in a middle- to upper middle-class neighborhood just west of downtown Jacksonville and blocks from the St. Johns River.
Collier is the third NFL player to be shot in the past 18 months. Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was fatally shot during what police said was a botched burglary attempt at his Miami-area home in November. Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed when his rented limousine was sprayed with bullets minutes after leaving a New Year's party at a downtown Denver club in 2007.
Collier is entering his third NFL season. The 26-year-old, who attended Valdosta State, has seen action in eight games in his career. He made his first NFL start in the final game of the 2007 season against Houston.
