Deadly shooting
A former Raiders safety shot and killed five people in South Carolina before killing himself; his motive was unknown
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former Raiders defensive back Phillip Adams has been identified as the gunman who killed five people, including a prominent doctor in South Carolina, a source who was briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said that Adams’ parents live near the doctor’s home in Rock Hill and that he had been treated by the doctor. The source said Adams killed himself after midnight with a .45 caliber weapon.
Adams played two seasons with the Raiders in 2012 and 2013 and accumulated 45 tackles and two interceptions in 30 games, including two starts.
The York County Sheriff ’s Office said they searched for hours before finding the suspect in a nearby home.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told a news conference that investigators had not yet determined a motive for Wednesday’s mass shooting.
“There’s nothing right now that makes sense to any of us,” Tolson said.
Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara, 69, were pronounced dead in their home in Rock Hill with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, the York County coroner’s office said.
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, North Carolina, was flown to a Charlotte hospital, where he was in critical condition “fighting hard for his life,” said a cousin, Heather Smith Thompson.
Adams, 33, played in 78 NFL games over five seasons for six teams. A safety and special teams player from South Carolina State, he joined the 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick.
Played for six teams
Rarely a starter, Adams also was with New England, Seattle, Oakland and the New York Jets, finishing his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015.
As a rookie late in the 2010 season, Adams suffered a severe ankle injury that required surgery that included several screws being inserted into the leg. He never played for the 49ers again, getting released just before the 2011 season began and signing with New England. He moved next to the Raiders, where he had two concussions in a three-game period in 2012.
Whether Adams suffered long-lasting injuries from his concussions as a player wasn’t clear. Adams would not have been eligible for testing as part of a broad settlement between the league and its former players over such injuries because he hadn’t retired by 2014.
Adams’ father told a Charlotte television station that he blamed football for problems that may have led his son to commit Wednesday’s violence.
“I can say he’s a good kid, he was a good kid, and I think the football messed him up,” Alonzo Adams told WCNC-TV. “He didn’t talk much, and he didn’t bother nobody.”
Adams often isolated himself, even as a player, his agent, Scott Casterline, said. Casterline said he spoke regularly with Adams’ father, who left him a voicemail Wednesday morning.
“This is so unlike him. He had to not be in his right mind, obviously,” Casterline said, adding that Adams struggled away from the game.
“He had an injury his rookie year. Some teams wrote him off, and he had that stigma of a guy who was hurt,” Casterline said. “It was hard for him to walk away from the game, especially a guy as dedicated as he was.”
“We encouraged him to explore all of his disability options, and he wouldn’t do it,” Casterline added. “I knew he was hurting and missing football, but he wouldn’t take health tips offered to him. He said he would, but he wouldn’t.”
“I felt he was lost without football, somewhat depressed.”
Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith, who trained Adams, said the former NFL player had opened a shop selling smoothies before COVID-19 hit.
Both he and Casterline emphasized Adams didn’t drink or do drugs.
Audio of 911 calls played
At Thursday’s news conference, Tolson played audio of two 911 calls, the first from an HVAC company that employed Lewis and Shook. One of the men, the caller said, had called him “screaming” and saying that he had been shot and that his co-worker was shot and “unresponsive.”
“I think there’s been a bad shooting,” a different man said in a second 911 call, saying he was outside cutting his grass and heard “about 20” shots fired at the Lesslie home before seeing someone leave the house.
Tolson said evidence at the scene led authorities to Adams as a suspect.
He said they went to Adams’ parents’ home, evacuated them and then tried to talk Adams out of the house. Eventually, they found him dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
Tolson said both a .45-caliber and 9 mm weapon were used in Wednesday’s shooting.
A person briefed on the investigation said Thursday that Adams had been treated by Lesslie, who lived near his parents’ home. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
But Tolson would not confirm that Adams had been the doctor’s patient.
Lesslie worked for decades as an emergency room doctor, board-certified in both emergency medicine and occupational medicine and serving as emergency department medical director for nearly 15 years at Rock Hill General Hospital, according to his website.
He and his wife had four children and nine grandchildren and were involved with their church and with Camp Joy, which works with children with disabilities and where Lesslie served as camp physician for a week each summer.
Deputies were called around
4:45 p.m. Wednesday to the Lesslies’ home and evacuated the neighbors as they searched for hours for a suspect.
Allison Hope, who lives across from Adams’ parents’ home, about a mile from the Lesslies, said police allowed her to return home around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Moments later, a vehicle pulled into the Adams’ driveway, and law enforcement quickly surrounded the property.
She said they spent hours negotiating with Phillip Adams, using a loudspeaker and sending in a robot to scan the house. She said authorities repeatedly asked Adams to come out and promised to get his disabled mother out safely before Adams shot himself.
“This is something I can’t grasp yet. I can’t put it all together and I’m trying to,” Hope said.