MIAMI  Homicide detectives revealed few details Wednesday on their search for the killer of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, gunned down in his home at Palmetto Bay during an intrusion early Monday morning.  Taylor died approximately 24 hours later.  "Sometimes on TV shows, they catch the guy in an hour," Miami-Dade police department detective Juan Villalba said. "This isn't a TV show. This, unfortunately, is real.  "What I can say is that our detectives are working feverishly to solve his homicide case, taking interviews, listening to statements and exhausting every possible lead."  He added he had no knowledge of any definitive suspects but that police are ruling out no possibilities, including that a break-in at Taylor's home Nov. 18 could be related to the slaying.  Police are tight-lipped about the details, including the caliber of the bullet that tore Taylor's femoral artery.  Miami-Dade Detective Robert Williams explained why.  "Only two and possibly three (parties) know the caliber of the bullet," he said. "That would be the killer, us, and maybe Sean Taylor. So we're not releasing that information because it could affect the investigation. We don't want to give up anything that could be a tip-off to anybody."  Police haven't released a transcript or recording of the 911 emergency call from Taylor's girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, who made the call after Taylor had been wounded.  "At some point, it will be released because it's a matter of public record," Villalba said. "But at this point, it's still in hands of homicide, and the release of that information may actually hinder the case. It's pretty much the same way with any homicide case."  However, Robert Parker, director of the Miami-Dade County Police Department, said during a news conference that no evidence links Monday's shooting to Taylor personally, Parker said, adding that it was "more like a random event."  Parker said evidence at Taylor's home indicates that one or more intruders barged into Taylor's home early Monday in an attempted burglary. After a confrontation inside the home, Taylor was shot once in the upper leg and died a day later after losing a tremendous amount of blood.  He provided no details about how the home was entered.  "There's nothing that indicates thus far that there's some kind of involvement on the victim's part," Parker said. "We have no reason to think this was anything other than a burglary or a robbery involving an intruder."  For all the unknowns, however, those close to 24-year-old Taylor appeared immersed in grief, not details, as they prepared for a funeral Monday morning to be held at Pharmed Arena at Florida International University in Miami.  At Taylor's high school, Gulliver Preparatory, hundreds of students gathered for an emotional memorial in which the player was remembered as much for his persona off the field as his unyielding defense on it.  "You found yourself drawn to him," John McCloskey, one of Taylor's coaches at Gulliver, told The Associated Press. "He would charm you with his soft-spoken nature and his polite demeanor."  Authorities took numerous pieces of evidence — including a computer — from Taylor's home for examination and police continue to probe a possible connection between the shooting and a burglary at the home eight days earlier.  Speakers at the memorial sought to contrast the Taylor they knew with the one often portrayed in the media by his lapses — a drunken driving charge that was dismissed, his firings of two agents, numerous fines and an incident two years ago in which he was accused of brandishing a gun.  "It's sad that everybody thinks he's this aggressive and mouthy athlete," said Arriana Marion, who went to high school with Taylor. "He was really just a phenomenal person."  Gulliver football coach Earl Sims said Taylor's returns to his alma mater were met by adoring students.  "The whole energy in the room changed because everybody's eyes lit up and they were listening for the words that fell off his lips," he said. "Every time he spoke, the environment changed."  USA TODAY's Skip Wood and The Associated Press contributed to this report  Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.
The fatal shooting of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor appeared to have occurred during a random burglary and there are no indications the player was targeted or knew his assailant, police said Wednesday.