The Daily Beast
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos Getty/HandoutThe former NFL pro Phillip Adams was suspected of killing five people, including a beloved family doctor and his grandkids, in a mass shooting in South Carolina on Wednesday—before he turned the gun on himself, according to local authorities.The shooting occurred just before 5 p.m. at Dr. Robert Lesslie’s Marshall Road home, just outside Rock Hill, South Carolina. The York County Sheriff’s Office named the victims as Lesslie, 70, his wife, Barbara, 69, and their two grandkids, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5.The fifth victim, 38-year-old James Lewis, was fixing the air conditioning in the Lesslies’ home at the time of the shooting, according to his dad. A coworker was also hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds.” All five deaths have been ruled homicides by the York County Coroner’s Office.After an eight-hour manhunt, officers found Adams at a nearby home along with his disabled mother, Phyllis, a former veteran local teacher. She was safely removed from the home before police found Adams dead inside, The Herald Online reported. Adams, 32, died from “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the York County Coroner’s Office told The Daily Beast. A York County Sheriff spokesperson confirmed that Adams lived on the same street as Lesslie. Public records show he and his mom live less than a mile down the road but it wasn’t clear if there was any relationship between the two families.Off-Duty Pentagon Officer Kills 2 People He ‘Thought’ Were Stealing a Car: PDLesslie was described as a “staple” in the community, whose decades-long career meant he treated or knew almost everyone in Rock Hill, a city dubbed Football City USA due to the unusual number of residents who go on to football stardom.“To know the Lesslie family is to love them. Through the decades, they made such an incredible impact on our area and the lives of countless people—more than they could have ever known,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said in a Thursday statement, before extending his condolences to the Lewis family. “It’s impossible to imagine the grief that the extended Lesslie family must be feeling, including and especially their adult children.”The Associated Press and local outlets named the suspect as Adams. The 32-year-old played defensive back for many teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Atlanta Falcons. He suffered multiple injuries during his playing career, including concussions and a broken ankle. Prior to his football career, he went to South Carolina State.“We are just in shock. I can’t believe this happened. Who would want to hurt the Lesslies?” one friend of the family told The Daily Beast on Thursday, describing how the community is “devastated.” Lewis’ father, Tom, told local station WSOC9 that his son was working on the Lesslies’ air conditioning when the gunfire erupted. “He was my best friend,” he said.Gaston Sheet Metal Services, a heating and cooling company in Gastonia, confirmed that Lewis and a coworker were shot. “Both men... are long-standing, beloved members of our family at GSM.,” a statement said. “These men embody the values we strive to achieve at GSM and are family-focused, up-beat, and wonderful team members who cared about all the people they encountered.”“He was my best friend”I’m talking to Tom Lewis the father of the Gastonia technician killed in a mass shooting at a home outside of Rock Hill. James Lewis was there working on the AC when a gunman killed the family at the home and Lewis, then critically injured Lewis’ coworker pic.twitter.com/NkleSRPA7R— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) April 8, 2021 Trent Faris, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, paid tribute to Dr. Lesslie, saying that he was one of the local community’s most well-known people. “I’ve lived in Rock Hill my entire life and Dr. Lesslie was my doctor growing up,” said Faris. “[He’s] been one of those people that everybody knows. He started Riverview Medical Center in Rock Hill... It’s been a staple in Rock Hill for years.”On his website, Dr. Lesslie wrote that he and Barbara were married for more than 40 years and had four children and six grandchildren. “In my spare time, I enjoy writing, golf, hunting, growing fruit and hops, and bagpiping,” he wrote, while also recounting his decades of emergency-medicine experience in Rock Hill as well as North Carolina.The doc was the author of eight books about real-life stories from the emergency room. In one, Angels in the ER, he wrote: “Twenty-five years in the ER have taught me a lot of things. I know without a doubt that life is fragile. I have come to understand that humility may be the greatest virtue. And I am convinced we need to take the time to say the things we deeply feel to the people we deeply care about.” Robert Lesslie Eleni Pagiazitis, who worked for Lesslie for four years in patient relations, described him as “the hardest, caring, and most sincere person.”“He loved life and his family to the fullest and most importantly, God. He was the sweetest and the funniest. He always cracked jokes with those he knew,” Pagiazitis told The Daily Beast, adding that Lesslie’s wife “was the most delightful, classy and lovely” woman. She said she didn’t know Adams.“His grandchildren were his greatest joy. He cherished family time beyond words. He and a heart of gold and was always giving his passion and professionalism to all his patients.” The shooting happened just hours before President Joe Biden gave a White House Rose Garden address on gun reforms, calling gun violence “an epidemic” and “an international embarrassment.” Faris called the shooting “one of those strange things that a lot of people are going to have a hard time understanding.”“We are all shocked this could happen here in York County,” he said. “This is a mass shooting. Normally you think of a movie theater or a mall but we are treating this as a mass shooting because there were five victims killed.”Suspect Identified After Deadly ‘Business Dispute’ Shooting Spree in CaliforniaAccording to local news reports, Adams was a seventh-round pick to the NFL in 2010. “I was on the phone with Coach [Mike] Singletary when my name came on the TV screen,” Adams told The Herald Online at the time, stating that the first beneficiary of his newfound fame would be his mom, who had been paralyzed in a car accident. “I can’t describe the feeling when I saw my name. I got picked by a team with a great coach and one that is on the way back up.”The Herald reported in 2010 that Adams’ mom is a longtime Rock Hill teacher who is known around town as “Mrs. P.A.” She did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. Citing court records, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday that Adams was charged with simple assault and battery in 2009—but was acquitted in a bench trial. Earlier this month, he was convicted of multiple traffic charges, including failure to maintain proof of insurance and driving under suspension. Undated public records show he was also twice charged with carrying a concealed weapon.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
