‘Sad day in Rock Hill’
Ex-Patriot kills five, then himself, in S.C.
South Carolina police pleaded with former Patriot defensive back Phillip Adams to surrender “with your hands up” after being suspected of slaying five in his hometown, an eyewitness told the Herald.
“Phillip! Phillip! Come out with your hands up,” a 17-year-old Rock Hill, S.C., neighbor said some of the nearly dozen police officers she saw across the street yelled.
“It’s all still very unreal,” she said. “His parents, who would give you the shirt off their backs, were brought safely out.”
Police said Adams, 32, never surrendered and took his own life early Thursday. He’s suspected of slaying five people Wednesday, including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren, in the South Carolina city called the football capital of the South.
“It’s horrific,” said Rock Hill real estate agent Joe Montgomery Thursday afternoon. “It’s a sad day in
Rock Hill. We not only lost a great football player but a doctor, his wife, the grandchildren and more. I love my community. It’s very gray and sad right now.”
Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara, 69, were pronounced dead in their home in Rock Hill along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner’s office said, the Associated Press is reporting.
A man who had been working at the Lesslie home, James Lewis, 38, from Gaston, was found shot to death outside. A sixth victim, Robert Shook, 38, of Cherryville, N.C., was flown to a Charlotte hospital, where he was in critical condition “fighting hard for his life,” a cousin told the AP.
Adams’ father, Alonzo Adams, blamed the shooting outburst on football.
“I can say he’s a good kid,” the dad told WCNC-TV in Charlotte, N.C. “I think the football messed him up.”
Phillip Adams played for six NFL teams including the Patriots. The defensive back was a seventh round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 2010.
Of the 78 NFL games Adams appeared in, six were with the Patriots in 2011. He was signed then resigned and released two more times with the club that year.
During a 31-3 Patriots win over the Kansas City Chiefs in November, Adams recorded his first interception in the NFL. Eight days later, he was waived for the final time. The Patriots went 13-3 that year, losing in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.
Injury-wise, Adams suffered a broken ankle while with the 49ers. He also reportedly suffered two concussions over three games while playing for the Raiders.
Adams’ hometown of Rock Hill also produced several other NFL stars including Stephon Gilmore of the Patriots, as well as Jadeveon Clowney, who is currently a free agent. Both Gilmore and Clowney attended South Pointe High School. Adams attended Rock Hill High, right around the same time.