Ex-NFL player kills self, five others in South Carolina
Agent: ‘Seeing Phillip shoot two kids, it’s not him. I can’t fathom it.’
Former 49ers and Raiders cornerback Phillip Adams was identified by authorities Thursday as the gunman who shot and killed five people in South Carolina on Wednesday, then died by suicide overnight.
Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara, 69, were pronounced dead in their home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Wednesday 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 Lesslie home, James Lewis, 38, from Gaston, South Carolina, 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. Lewis and Shook were at the home performing HVAC work.
Adams, a Rock Hill native, holed himself up in his parents’ nearby home for hours after the shootings. Police came to the Adamses’ home to talk the former athlete out of harming himself, but he turned his .45-caliber weapon on himself and was found in the home early
Thursday.
No immediate motive was revealed. A person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press that Adams had been treated by Lesslie. Officials did not confirm whether Adams had any known medical issues, but his father said Adams was changed by his career, which included at least two documented concussions.
“He was a good kid, and I think the football messed him up,” Alonzo Adams told WCNC-TV in Charlotte. “He didn’t talk much, and he didn’t bother nobody.”
The gunman had a nomadic NFL career, including a rookie season with the 49ers and two later years with the Raiders. As a member of the Raiders in 2012, Adams suffered two concussions over a threegame span.
Not much was known about Adams during the six years he spent in the NFL with six different teams, which began in 2010 when the 49ers picked the former South Carolina State defensive back in the seventh and final round of the NFL Draft.
Scott Casterline, a longtime NFL agent who represented Adams, told The Associated Press his client often isolated himself during his playing career. But he was stunned when he received a voicemail from Adams’ father about the deadly incident.
“He was part of my family. I loved him. He’s a great kid, a great guy. This is so unlike him. He had to not be in his right mind, obviously,” Casterline said. “All of us who knew Phillip are shaking our heads. He struggled away from the game. I tried to get him to come to Texas. I was going to find him a job, but he wouldn’t leave South Carolina because he had a son. He was a good father.
“Seeing Phillip shoot two kids, it’s not him. I can’t fathom it. It’s devastating for the victims and the families,” Casterline said.
Adams, though, had prior troubles with authorities, according to multiple reports. The most serious came in 2009 when he was charged with simple assault and battery. He was acquitted of the charge in a bench trial, according to South Carolina court records. Records also show Adams was convicted of several York County traffic charges, including driving under suspension and failure to maintain proof of insurance.
There was plenty of hope for Adams when he began his career, despite being selected in the draft’s final round. He couldn’t have been happier to be playing for then-49ers coach Mike Singletary.
While a 49ers rookie, Adams was effusive when asked by his hometown paper, the Post & Courier, what it was like to play for the Hall of Fame linebacker.
“Honestly, it’s an honor,” Adams said. “He’s an inspiration to play for both on and off the field. He’s teaching me how to be a man and a professional athlete, which has been so helpful for me.
“He’s someone you can believe in as a player, and that’s all you can really ask for. My dad loves him. As a kid I can remember watching ESPN Classic and seeing him play, so I knew who he was before I got here.”
Adams praised the 49ers’ coaching staff for instilling confidence in him.
“I worked hard, and I found a coaching staff that believed in me,” Adams said. “A lot of NFL coaches kind of look down on guys coming from Division I-AA, but they had an open mind about me when I got to camp. I try to play with a lot of confidence, a little swagger, because I want the coaches to trust me that I’ll get the job done.”
Adams appeared in 15 games as a 49ers rookie in 2010 before sustaining a broken ankle. Then Singletary was fired after the 49ers went just 6-10 and replaced by Jim Harbaugh.
A voice message left Thursday on a cellphone number associated with
Singletary was not immediately returned.
The 49ers cut Adams prior to the 2011 season, which kicked off a flurry of transactions for the secondyear cornerback. Adams wound up being cut and signed a total of eight times by three different teams during a three-month period in 2011, while playing six games with the New England Patriots and one with the Seattle Seahawks that season.
Adams also spent time with the New York Jets (2014) and Atlanta Falcons (2015).
Adams made his first two NFL starts while with the Raiders’ last-place team in 2012 and was arguably the best cornerback on Oakland’s 28th-ranked defense that year. He had a career-best two interceptions and five passes defensed that season. Adams also served as the Raiders’ punt returner in 2012, gaining 139 yards on his 25 returns.
Former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie mostly remembered Adams as a hard worker.
“I remember him being appreciative, a gracious that-he-was-on-the-team kind of guy,” McKenzie told USA Today on Thursday. “A very hard worker. ... I never had a coach, trainer, strength coach or teammate say they had any issue with him. He was a non-issue guy. He just wasn’t talented enough. That’s why he bounced around. He got opportunities, though, because he worked hard.”
Adams wound up playing 31 of his 78 NFL games with Oakland, which was more than twice as many games as he played with any other team.