Monday night’s NFL game between Buffalo and the Cincinnati Bengals was temporarily suspended after Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field—prompting medical personnel to begin CPR and rush him off the field in an ambulance, according to the game broadcast.
The frightening incident happened when Hamlin completed a tackle on Cincinnati wide receiver William “Tee” Higgins with 5:58 left in the first quarter. As he went to stand up he immediately collapsed.
As staff tended to him, a number of other players appeared shaken up, including some who were caught on camera with tears in their eyes.
The entire Bills team quickly took to the field and knelt down in prayer as the stadium went silent. Fans in Cincinnati cheered encouragingly as the team retired to its locker room.
It was not entirely clear what injury Hamlin sustained.
The 24-year-old University of Pittsburgh graduate is just two years into his NFL career.
FOX19 reporter Joe Danneman wrote on Twitter that, according to unspecified sources, “I’m told Damar Hamlin has a pulse, but is not breathing on his own.” He added that medical personnel used a defibrillator in addition to administering CPR.
Hamlin was reportedly transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
This is a breaking story that will be updated.
