A prominent local doctor, his wife and their two young grandchildren were among those killed Wednesday in a shooting at their home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
The suspected shooter was identified Thursday as former NFL player Phillip Adams, who later committed suicide, The Associated Press reported. Police said they found the suspect at a nearby house Wednesday evening after a long manhunt.
Adams’s parents live near the doctor’s home. Neighbor Allison Hope said she saw police surround the house and spend hours negotiating with Adams over a loudspeaker. She said police asked Adams out and promised to get her disabled mother out safely, before Adams shot herself.
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A fifth person working at the family’s home was also found dead and a sixth was injured.
This is what we know:
Who are the victims?
Dr Robert Lesslie, 70, Barbara Lesslie, 69, and their grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the York County Coroner’s Office.
James Lewis, 38, was found dead outside. Lewis was working from the home at the time, police said.
Sixth person injured and taken to local hospital with severe gunshot wounds
Who was Dr. Robert Lesslie?
Lesslie has practiced in the area since 1981 and founded Riverview House Calls & Riverview Hospice and Palliative Care, according to her website.
He worked in emergency rooms for decades, most notably as the medical director of the emergency department at Rock Hill General Hospital for almost 15 years, according to a biography on the website.
“Dr. Lesslie was one of those people that everyone knows,” York County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Trent Faris said at a press conference.
Lesslie founded two emergency care centers in the area and was also an author and columnist. For seven years, Lesslie wrote a weekly medical column for the Charlotte Observer, and her 2008 book, “Angels in the ER,” told the stories of patients and emergency room staff. When asked once if he really believes angels roam the ER, he responded on Facebook.
“Those of us who have had the privilege of working in emergencies, those of us who have been able to care for people when their lives elude us and to stand with loved ones when they are most needed. great uncertainty, fear or grief and to rejoice when a life is saved, know that we are not alone, ”he writes.
The physician also served as the supervising physician and medical director of Winthrop University in Rock Hill for over 25 years. In a statement, university president George W. Hynd called Lesslie a “caring professional who touched lives and left our campus better” and thanked him for helping the COVID response team -19 from Winthrop.
“We just wouldn’t have been able to successfully open and deliver on-site quarantine and isolation support without Dr Lesslie,” he said.
Lesslie and his wife have four children and eight grandchildren, according to a biography on the website. They lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with their golden retriever, several miniature horses, goats, donkeys and chickens. He loved golf and bagpipes.
Lesslie was also an active member and served as an elder at a local church in Rock Hill, according to her biography. There he and his wife taught Sunday school and sang in the church choir. They also worked with Camp Joy, an awareness program for people with disabilities. He enjoyed mentoring high school and college students considering a career in medicine.
After the shoot, Lesslie’s website administrator posted words on her Facebook page that Lesslie had written in her book:
“Someday, when I leave this body and find myself in the presence of the Lord, my time, however small it may be, will be filled with the praises and wonder of Jesus,” he wrote. “I know I will be able to hug my mom again and walk and talk with my dad. There are a lot of people I also want to see – family and friends, grandparents, some of whom I have never met on this side. “
“We have no idea what paradise will look like, only that it will be perfect,” he continued. “I will find myself walking with Barbara through a field of lush green grass, surrounded by hills covered with evergreens.”
What do we know about Phillip Adams, the suspect?
The suspect was also identified as former NFL player Philip Adams by York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, according to The Rock Hill Herald.
Adams, 33, was drafted in 2010 by the San Francisco 49ers and continued to play for teams including the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks before ending up with the Atlanta Falcons at the end of his career. in 2015.
He played in the state of South Carolina, where he played the cornerback, and he suffered several injuries during his career, including a serious ankle injury.
Adams’s parents live near the doctor’s home and he has been treated by the doctor in the past, according to the AP source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The source said Adams committed suicide on Thursday after midnight.
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Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.