(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-27 17:29

MIAMI - The National Football League's Sean Taylor, a star defensive player for the Washington Redskins, was shot in his home near Miami on Monday, police said.

Taylor, 24, the fifth overall pick of the 2004 draft by the Redskins, was airlifted in critical condition to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment, police said.

The Miami Herald reported that Taylor and other occupants of the house heard intruders at the rear door and that Taylor was shot in the leg, but police said they could not confirm those details.

"We've yet to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting," Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Kathy Webb said.

Miami-Dade police Lt. Nancy Perez, speaking to reporters outside Taylor's home, said Taylor "was shot in the lower extremities. He was airlifted to Ryder Trauma (center at Jackson Memorial Hospital) in critical condition."

Taylor, a college star with the University of Miami, bought the four-bedroom home in Palmetto Bay, a village just south of Miami, for $900,000 two years ago.

Taylor had five interceptions this season but had been sidelined the last two weeks with a leg injury.