MIAMI (Reuters) - Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle
Richard Collier is in critical but stable condition after being
shot in the early hours of Tuesday, the NFL team said.
"We're shocked and deeply saddened by the news about
Richard Collier," said Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver.
"We have been informed that Richard has had surgery and
he's in critical but stable condition. The entire Jaguars
family is praying for Richard and his family at this time,"
added Weaver in a statement issued on the team's website
(jaguars.com).
When contacted for information relating to the Collier
incident, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office provided an incident
report which did not name the victim but detailed a shooting at
2.50 a.m. on Tuesday.
It referred to a handgun shooting and a report from a
law-enforcement officer who attended the scene and said the
victim had been found slumped over in the passenger seat of a
red SUV in the parking lot in front of an apartment building.
Collier, used as a back-up offensive tackle, has appeared
in eight games in his two seasons with the Jaguars and made one
start.
The shooting was the third of an NFL player since January
2007 -- Denver Broncos' Darrent Williams was shot dead after a
New Years Eve party and Sean Taylor, a safety with the
Washington Redskins, died after receiving shot wounds during a
break-in at his home near Miami in November.
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Sonia Oxley)