Former NFL Player Kills 5, Including 2 Children, Then Himself

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Police have identified Phillip Adams, a former NFL player, as the suspect in the shooting deaths of 5 people last night in South Carolina.

The home where the murders took place belonged to a Doctor and his wife, with Adams having been treated by the doctor at some point. His parents also lived close by to the home.

Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, were pronounced dead at the scene along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner’s office said.

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,” York County Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson Trent Faris said.

via apnews.com

York County is a place where things like this don’t happen, according to York County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Trent Faris.

“It doesn’t happen here. It’s one of those strange things that a lot of people are going to have a hard time understanding and we just hope that everybody understands that we’re going to do everything we can to try to figure out why this happened here,” Faris said.

Sadly 5 people have died as a result of the shooting. Dr. Robert Lesslie & his wife, Barbara Lesslie were both found in the home & died as a result of gunshot wounds, as well as their 2 grandchildren. James Lewis of Gastonia, was working at the home & died from gunshot wounds

— YCSO_SC (@YCSO_SC) April 8, 2021

Adams was found at his home, and included an hours-long standoff between himself and police. Negotiations failed, and Adams was eventually found inside the home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.