ROCK HILL, SC (AP) – South Carolina authorities have confirmed that former NFL player Phillip Adams was the person who killed five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and two grandchildren in Carolina of the South.
They told a news conference on Thursday that they had not yet determined any reason.
“There’s nothing that makes sense to any of us right now,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said.
Tolson said evidence left at the scene of the shooting led to Adams being suspected. He said they went to Adams ‘parents’ house, evacuated them and then tried to evict him. He was eventually found dead by a single gun to the head in a bedroom, he said.
THIS IS A LATEST NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.
ROCK HILL, SC (AP) – The gunman who killed five people, including a prominent South Carolina doctor, was former NFL player Phillip Adams, who committed suicide early Thursday, according to a person who was informed of the investigation.
Adams had been treated by the doctor, who lived near his parents’ home in Rock Hill, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly. He said Adams committed suicide after midnight with a .45-caliber weapon.
The York County Sheriff’s Office said they had searched hours after Wednesday’s mass shooting before finding the alleged gunman, whom they did not identify, at a nearby house.
Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara, 69, were pronounced dead at the scene along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, he said. the York County coroner.
A man who had been working at home, James Lewis, 38, of Gaston, was found shot outside and a sixth person, who was not identified, was hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds.” the spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office, Trent. Faris said.
Adams, 33, played 78 NFL games over five seasons on six teams. He joined the 49ers in 2010 as selected for the seventh round of the South Carolina state draft and, although he rarely started, he played in New England, Seattle, Oakland and the New York Jets before to end his career with the Atlanta Falcons. in 2015.
As a rookie in the late 2010 season, Adams suffered a serious ankle injury that required surgery that included several screws on his leg. He never played with the 49ers again and was released just before the start of the 2011 season. Later, with the Raiders, he had two concussions during three games in 2012.
It was not immediately clear if he suffered long-term injuries related to concussions. Adams would not have been eligible to test as part of a broad agreement between the league and its former players for these injuries, because he had not retired in 2014.
Adams’ father told a Charlotte television station that he blamed football for his son’s problems and that they could have led him to commit Wednesday’s violence.
“I can say he’s a good kid – he was a good kid, and I think football messed him up,” Alonzo Adams told WCNC-TV. “He didn’t talk much and didn’t bother anyone.”
Deputies were called around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Lesslies’ home, which is not visible from the road. They evacuated neighbors as they spent hours looking for a suspect with police dogs.
Allison Hope, who lives across from the modest one-story brick house of Adams’ parents, about a mile from the Lesslies, said police allowed him to return home around 9 p.m. Moments later, a vehicle entered Adams Road and law enforcement quickly surrounded the property.
He said they spent hours negotiating with Phillip Adams, using a speakerphone and sending a robot to scan the house. He said authorities repeatedly asked Adams to come out and promised to remove his disabled mother safely before Adams was shot.
“It simply came to our notice then. I can’t put it all together, I try and I witnessed it, ”said Hope. “I feel bad for him because if he was mental or something was going on in his life or whatever, you know, he needed help, and that’s the sad part.”
Adams often isolated himself, even as a player, his agent, Scott Casterline, told the AP. Casterline said he spoke regularly with Adams’ father, who left him a voice message Wednesday morning.
“I was part of my family. He loved her. He’s a fantastic kid, a fantastic guy. This is so different from him. Obviously, he didn’t have to be right, “said Casterline.
“Everyone we knew Phillip shook his head. He struggled to get away from the party. I tried to get him to come to Texas. He was going to look for work, but he would not leave South Carolina because he had a son. He was a good father. ”
“Seeing Phillip shoot two kids is not him. I can not understand. It’s devastating for the victims and the families, ”Casterline said.
Former Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith, who coached Adams before the 2010 draft and after joining the league, said he was a hard worker. He and Casterline said Adams had opened a store that sold smoothies and juices before COVID-19 arrived and emphasized that he did not drink or drug.
“He didn’t drink any alcohol,” Smith said. “It simply came to our notice then. At home, everything was placed with precision.
Faris, the sheriff’s spokesman, provided few details ahead of a press conference scheduled for Thursday after.
“We’ve found the person we believe is responsible and we’re with him right now, and that’s all I can say about the suspect,” said Faris, who added that they had no reason to believe anyone was involved.
Both Faris’ father and Adams said they had been patients of the murdered doctor.
“Dr. Lesslie has been one of those people everyone knows. He started Riverview Medical Center in Rock Hill and has been a staple at Rock Hill for years, ”Faris said.
Lesslie had worked for decades as an emergency physician, board-certified in both emergency medicine and occupational medicine, and served as medical director of the emergency department for nearly 15 years at Rock Hill General Hospital, according to your website..
He founded two urgent care centers, wrote a weekly medical column for The Charlotte Observer, and also wrote a book, “Angels in the Emergency Room,” which collected what he called “inspiring real stories.” A page of biography he said he and his wife raised four children.
“I know for a fact that life is fragile,” Lesslie wrote in her book. “I understand that humility can be the greatest virtue. And I’m convinced we need to take the time to say the things we feel deeply to the people we care about most. “
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Kinnard reported from Columbia. SC contributors include AP Pro Football writers Barry Wilner in New York and Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia; Sports writer Josh Dubow in Alameda, California; Legal writer Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia and Nell Redmond in Rock Hill. Meg Kinnard can be contacted at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.