© Rick Wood | 2020 Dec 1
The gunman who killed five people, and then himself, Wednesday night in South Carolina, was former NFL safety Phillip Adams, according to sources speaking with the Associated Press.
A prominent doctor in South Carolina, Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, who had recently treated Adams, was among the victims, as was his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, and two grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner’s office told the AP.
A man who had been working at the home, James Lewis, 38, was found shot to death outside, and a sixth person was hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds.” Lesslie’s house was near the home of Adams’ parents house in Rock Hill, SC, a city 25 miles southwest of Charlotte.
Following the shooting spree, Adams killed himself with a .45-caliber weapon after midnight. He was 32. Details as to Adams’ motive or what led to the mass shooting are unclear at this time.
Adams played in the NFL for six seasons after being selected by the 49ers in the seventh-round of the 2010 Draft. Adams appeared in 15 games as a reserve for the 49ers in his rookie season before breaking his ankle while blocking for a kickoff in Week 16. That would be the last game he played for San Francisco, who released him early the following season.
Adams spent the rest of his career bouncing around the league with stints with the Patriots, Seahawks, Raiders, Jets and Falcons. Adams got consistent playing time during his stint in Oakland, appearing in 31 games from 2012-13, intercepting two passes.
Dr. Robert Lesslie, a former emergency room physician who was serving as emergency department medical director, was reportedly a well-known figure in the Rock Hill community, and wrote a weekly medical column for The Charlotte Observer.