(DEVELOPING) ETH – A former NFL player named Phillip Adams, has reportedly gun downed 5 people including a prominent doctor in South Carolina before turning the gun on himself early Thursday.
According to the report, Adams’ parents resided near the doctor’s home in Rock Hill, and Adams had been treated by the doctor. Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, were reportedly pronounced dead at the scene along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner’s office said.
The report further revealed that a man who had been working at the home, James Lewis, 38, from Gaston, was found shot to death outside, and a sixth person was hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds,” according to the York County Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson Trent Faris.
The Associated Press revealed that Phillips took his own life after midnight with a .45-caliber weapon. Adams, 33, played for the NFL as a defensive back for multiple teams including the 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons after starring at South Carolina State. According to the report from Faris, deputies were dispatched around 4:45 p.m.
Wednesday to the Lesslies’ home and spent hours searching for the suspect before finding him in a nearby home. “We have found the person we believe is responsible and we are with him at this time and that’s all I can say about the suspect,” Faris said, adding that they had no reason to believe anyone else was involved.
“We are currently at his house and we are serving a search warrant,” Faris stated that Lesslie was very well known in the Rock Hill community. “Dr. Lesslie was my doctor growing up,” Faris said. “Dr. Lesslie has been one of those people that everybody knows. He started Riverview Medical Center in Rock Hill and it’s been a staple in Rock Hill for years.”
