Dec 3, 2007 11:20 am US/Eastern
Friends & Family Gather For Sean Taylor Funeral
Funeral Service at FIU's Pharmed Arena at 11:00 a.m.
DORAL (CBS4) ―
Family, friends, fellow players, and hundreds saddened by the loss of Washington Redskins' player Sean Taylor will gather Monday at a public funeral service.
Taylor was shot by an intruder inside his Palmetto Bay home on Monday. He was shot once in the upper leg and died early Tuesday after losing a tremendous amount of blood.
Four men have been taken into custody and charged with unpremeditated murder in his death.
A public funeral service for Taylor will be held at Florida International University's Pharmed Arena starting at 11:00 a.m.
Taylor's family wanted the service to be held at the University of Miami, where Taylor was a former All-American safety, but the BankUnited Center on the Coral Gables campus was unavailable due to basketball games and preparation for a Republican presidential debate.
Sunday, hundreds showed up at a public viewing at the Second Baptist Church in 11111 Pinkston Dr. in Richmond Heights.
Following the viewing a candlelight vigil was held outside the University of Miami's BankUnited Center.
Taylor was honored throughout the NFL this weekend. All players in the NFL wore a number-21 decal on their helmets during this weekend's games in his memory. During Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills, as the Redskins lined up on defense for the first time in the game, they fielded 10 men, instead of the usual 11, to mark Taylor's absence.
"The only way we can honor him right now is to go out there on the field and play. Go out and play football," Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels said during a pregame video tribute to Taylor.
Last Wednesday, Taylor's father, Florida City Police Chief Pedro Taylor, flew to Washington and addressed the team for 10 minutes telling them to win the next five games and make it to the playoffs. He was accompanied by his son's girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, and other family members, according to Richard Sharpstein, the family's attorney and spokesman.
The owner of the Washington Redskins, Daniel Snyder, has arranged for the entire Redskins organization to attend the Monday service.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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