Jaguars Tackle Critical After Shooting

Jaguars player Richard Collier was out of surgery and in critical but stable condition after he was shot several times outside a Riverside apartment early Tuesday.

Collier, an offensive tackle, and former Jaguars defensive end Kenneth Pettway were waiting for two women outside an apartment in the 2300 block of Riverside Avenue just after 2:45 a.m. when a gunman approached and shot into Collier's SUV.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson said Collier, 26, was in the driver's seat of the Cadillac Escalade and was struck several times. He was transported to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center.

Pettway was not injured in the attack.

Police said the players had met the two women at a club Monday night and followed them to the Riverside address.

"They agreed to drop one car off at one of the female's homes," Jefferson said. "While they were waiting for the females to come back outside, shots rang out."

Investigators said the women were cooperating with detectives.

"We're not clear at this point as to the motive, as to the suspect," Jefferson said. "This is all open right now, all fluid, and we are investigating as we speak."

Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver issued a statement saying: "We're shocked and deeply saddened by this morning's news about Richard Collier. The entire Jaguars family is praying for Richard and his family at this time."

Collier is in his third year out of Valdosta State. The Jaguars picked him up as an undrafted free agent in 2006.

During training camp this summer, Collier battled for the starting job at left tackle but was beat out by Khalif Barnes.

Earlier this year, Collier pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge, avoiding trial and accepting six months of probation.

The 6-foot-7-inch, 350-pound linemen was arrested Nov. 3 after officers said they found him asleep behind the wheel of his sports utility vehicle at a McDonald's drive-through window. Collier failed field sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol level of .096. It is illegal to drive in Florida with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or above.

Collier's attorney, Hank Coxe, disputed the police report and recommended that his client go to trial, but Collier didn't want the team to have to deal with the negative attention that would generate.

Pettway, 25, a defensive end out of Grambling State, was picked up from the practice squad in 2006 and played 10 games in 2007. He was the seventh-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2005.

Pettway was one of 19 players the Jaguars cut from the roster on Saturday.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call homicide detectives at 904-630-2172 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.