Buccaneers’ Thomas Is Wounded Outside Nightclub

Linebacker Broderick Thomas of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was shot in the upper chest and right arm Saturday outside a nightclub and was reported in stable but serious condition.

An Air Force staff sergeant was arrested in the shooting, which police said took place at 2:40 a.m. outside Rumors Nightclub north of downtown.

Staff Sgt. Frank Taylor Jr., 27, assigned to the Services Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and released on his own recognizance.

According to police, an unidentified friend of Thomas’ was involved in an argument with Taylor in the parking lot outside the nightclub. Thomas intervened and apparently the serviceman backed down.

As the car Taylor was a passenger in was driving away, Thomas swung his fist through an open window, bruising Taylor’s face and breaking his glasses. Taylor then pulled out a small-caliber handgun and fired at Thomas, police said.

“He’s resting and stable and we think he’s going to be OK,” said Buccaneer spokeswoman Cheryl Harden. “We just don’t know everything that happened.”

Buccaneer Coach Richard Williamson and General Manager Phil Krueger were on a scouting trip and could not be reached for comment.

Thomas, 23, was the sixth player selected in the 1989 draft. He was a first-team All-America selection at Nebraska and a finalist for the Butkus and Lombardi Awards in 1988.

Thomas, a Houston native and nephew of Chicago Bears linebacker Mike Singletary, played sparingly in his rookie season but earned a starting job and became one of the most outspoken members of the team last year.

He was sixth in tackles last year with 72. He also had 7.5 sacks.