PALMETTO BAY, Fla. — Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was shot in the leg at his home today and was bleeding heavily, and police said he was in critical condition.

They are investigating a possible robbery.

Officers were sent to Taylor's home at about 1:45 a.m. after his girlfriend called 911 and said he was shot in his lower body, Lt. Nancy Perez said. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, she said, but did not disclose how many times he was shot.

Richard Sharpstein, an attorney who represented Taylor in a criminal case, said the player's father told him his son had been shot in the leg and there was much bleeding because the femoral artery was severed.

Investigators were still interviewing the girlfriend and other relatives who were in the home to try to determine what happened, Perez said.

"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."

Taylor has a home in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay that he bought two years ago. The 24-year-old player is in his fourth season with the Redskins after playing at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003. He leads the team with five interceptions but has missed the last two games because of a knee injury.