The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville Jaguars backup offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot early Tuesday morning and faces life-threatening injuries.
Jefferson said Collier and former Jaguars player Kenneth Pettway had been out clubbing in the San Marco area when they met two women. The two men followed the women to Riverside near St. Vincent’s Medical Center, police said, with the plan to drop the females’ vehicle off and continue socializing in one vehicle.
While waiting outside the Riverside apartment, Jefferson said, someone walked up to the Cadillac Escalade and fired off a number of shots striking Collier, who was behind the wheel. Pettway was not injured in the attack.
Jefferson said the two women “appeared shocked” by the shooting. He said authorities did not know if the two men were involved in any altercation or incident earlier in the night or if the shooting was random and not connected to the two players personally.
A man interviewed outside the apartment Tuesday morning said one of the women is his fiancee. They’re 22 and 26 years old, but the Times-Union is not identifying them because the shooter or shooters remain at large. The man, who was at work overnight, said he wasn’t certain what club the women visited. He said they know someone involved with promoting events involving Jaguars players and speculated that they might have gone clubbing at such an event.
The shooting comes after veteran running back Fred Taylor addressed the team about his disorderly conduct charge Friday night when he cursed an officer outside a nightclub. Following several arrests of Jaguars players over the last couple of years, Taylor had recently spoke about the importance of players not partying too much.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Collier and his family.
