Ex-NFL Player Phillip Adams Shoots Himself After Killing 5
Before committing suicide, former NFL player Phillip Adams killed five individuals, including a prominent doctor, his wife, and their two grandchildren, authorities said on Thursday.
During a news conference, the Sheriff of York County said authorities are still investigating the shooting incident as they had not yet determined the motive in Wednesday's mass shooting.
According to CNBC News, Kevin Tolson, York County Sheriff, shared that nothing has made sense to any of them. He added that the evidence left at the scene led authorities to Phillip Adams as a suspect.
Tolson said they went to the home of Adams' parents in Rock Hill to evacuate his parents and talk to the former NFL player out of the house.
But authorities eventually found Phillip Adams dead inside a bedroom with a single gunshot wound to the head. Tolson noted that a .45-calibre and 9mm weapons were used in the shooting on Wednesday.
The York County coroner's office said that the 70-year-old, Dr. Robert Lesslie, and his 69-year-old wife, Barbara Lesslie, were pronounced dead at the scene, along with their grandchildren, Noah Lesslie, 5, and Adah Lesslie, 9.
Also, a man working at the Lesslie family's home was shot dead outside the house. He was identified as James Lewis, 38. Authorities noted that a sixth victim, identified as Robert Shook, 38, was hospitalized after sustaining serious gunshot wounds.
A person familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the former NFL player had been treated by Dr. Lesslie, who lived close to his parents' home.
But the York County Sheriff would not confirm that Adams became a patient of the doctor. The source added that Phillip Adams killed himself with a .45-calibre gun after midnight, The Associated Press reported.
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NFL Days
Phillip Adams played in 78 NFL games for six seasons in six teams. The 32-year-old former NFL player first joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick out of South Carolina State.
He then went on to play for teams like New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, and the New York Jets before his career ended in 2015 with the Atlanta Falcons.
Phillip Adams suffered multiple injuries throughout his career. But it was not immediately clear if he suffered long-lasting concussion-related injuries since he was not eligible for testing as part of a settlement between the former players and league over such injuries because he has not retired by 2014.
Alonzo Adams, the father of the former NFL player, blamed football for the problems of his son, who did not talk much and did not bother anybody.
Alonzo Adams told WCNC-TV that Phillip Adams was a good kid, but football messed his son up, which might have been the cause of the violence on Wednesday.
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WATCH: Former NFL player Phillip Adams Kills Five People and Then Himself, Source Says - Los Angeles Times