flea
January 6th, 2007, 03:16 PM
IS IT OPEN SEASON ON FOOTBALL PLAYERS??
This is a sad story a young lad who plays in the NFLE europe and spent some time with the raiders.
A talented American footballer is fighting for his life after he and other bystanders were gunned down in a London club on New Year's Eve.
British Lorn Mayers was shot several times after a gunman opened fire in The Elbow Room bar in Islington. Another man and a woman were also caught in the crossfire at 2am on New Year's Day.
The 21 year-old sports star from Edmonton, who weighs 25 stone and stands 6'4" tall, remains critical but stable in the Royal London Hospital.
He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and lost a large amount of blood in the shooting. A 23 year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her leg and a 22 year old man suffering gunshot wounds remain in hospital in stable condition.
A fourth man came to hospital on January with a leg injury sustained during the incident, and was discharged the same day.
Mr Mayers, who has a 17-year-old sister Leanna, who he has been supporting since their parents died, was signed to European league team Berlin Thunder when he was 19, and was due to begin his third season with them in March.
Mike Matischak, PR Director of NFL Europa and former PR Director of Berlin Thunder said that Mr Mayers was a talented player with a "great future ahead of him."
He said: "First of all we were very shocked. We wish him all the best and hope he recovers really soon, and all our prayers are with him.
"We wouldn't be able to talk about the incident, but all our hopes and prayers are with him and his family.
"Lorn was with us for two years, and if he recovers the league would like to have him back because he was a very good and talented player. Everyone would be pleased to have him back, but the only thing in our minds is that he recovers and is healthy again.
"He was meant to be back with us because he played a good season last year, but that's not our concern right now. We want him to get healthy and then decide what to do next after that.
"He was a very good European player. He's a young guy and he was catching up with the American guys. He was very talented and had a great future in front of him."
Mr Mayers was also invited to train with the California based Oakland Raiders in 2005, but missed out on a permanent position after a knee injury, and returned to England to work for Sky Sports, Channel 5 and the BBC as a pundit.
After a few weeks with the raiders he said: "Six months ago I was delivering washing machines for Argos, now I'm getting ready to line up alongside Warren Sapp and Ted Washington."
David Tossell from NFL International said: "We were shocked to hear the news about Lorn and our thoughts are with him and his family.
Scotland Yard spokeswoman Lynne Arnold said: "We are investigating a shooting incident where four people were injured in The Elbow Room. The fourth victim has a leg injury and has been released from hospital.
"At the moment we have had some arrests but we are still investigating. We've got a packed nightclub, so there are so many people out there who might have seen it. We're very keen to appeal for anyone who had cameras or camera phones to come forwards."
Two men and a woman have been arrested and bailed in connection with the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8733 4766 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Copyright © 2006 National News +44(0)207 684 3000
This is a sad story a young lad who plays in the NFLE europe and spent some time with the raiders.
A talented American footballer is fighting for his life after he and other bystanders were gunned down in a London club on New Year's Eve.
British Lorn Mayers was shot several times after a gunman opened fire in The Elbow Room bar in Islington. Another man and a woman were also caught in the crossfire at 2am on New Year's Day.
The 21 year-old sports star from Edmonton, who weighs 25 stone and stands 6'4" tall, remains critical but stable in the Royal London Hospital.
He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and lost a large amount of blood in the shooting. A 23 year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her leg and a 22 year old man suffering gunshot wounds remain in hospital in stable condition.
A fourth man came to hospital on January with a leg injury sustained during the incident, and was discharged the same day.
Mr Mayers, who has a 17-year-old sister Leanna, who he has been supporting since their parents died, was signed to European league team Berlin Thunder when he was 19, and was due to begin his third season with them in March.
Mike Matischak, PR Director of NFL Europa and former PR Director of Berlin Thunder said that Mr Mayers was a talented player with a "great future ahead of him."
He said: "First of all we were very shocked. We wish him all the best and hope he recovers really soon, and all our prayers are with him.
"We wouldn't be able to talk about the incident, but all our hopes and prayers are with him and his family.
"Lorn was with us for two years, and if he recovers the league would like to have him back because he was a very good and talented player. Everyone would be pleased to have him back, but the only thing in our minds is that he recovers and is healthy again.
"He was meant to be back with us because he played a good season last year, but that's not our concern right now. We want him to get healthy and then decide what to do next after that.
"He was a very good European player. He's a young guy and he was catching up with the American guys. He was very talented and had a great future in front of him."
Mr Mayers was also invited to train with the California based Oakland Raiders in 2005, but missed out on a permanent position after a knee injury, and returned to England to work for Sky Sports, Channel 5 and the BBC as a pundit.
After a few weeks with the raiders he said: "Six months ago I was delivering washing machines for Argos, now I'm getting ready to line up alongside Warren Sapp and Ted Washington."
David Tossell from NFL International said: "We were shocked to hear the news about Lorn and our thoughts are with him and his family.
Scotland Yard spokeswoman Lynne Arnold said: "We are investigating a shooting incident where four people were injured in The Elbow Room. The fourth victim has a leg injury and has been released from hospital.
"At the moment we have had some arrests but we are still investigating. We've got a packed nightclub, so there are so many people out there who might have seen it. We're very keen to appeal for anyone who had cameras or camera phones to come forwards."
Two men and a woman have been arrested and bailed in connection with the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8733 4766 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Copyright © 2006 National News +44(0)207 684 3000