Family members were left stunned and bewildered Thursday by a spasm of violence from a one-time professional football player, who was accused of shooting to death five people in South Carolina on Wednesday, and then killing himself.
Former NFL defensive back Phillip Adams died by suicide after he shot Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, their grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, and James Lewis, 38, authorities said Thursday.
After an hourslong manhunt, officers found a suspect who “lives on the same road” as the victims and that a search warrant was served on the house, the sheriff’s office said.
“There’s nothing about this, right now, that makes sense to any of us,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said in a Thursday press conference.
Adams played six seasons in the NFL, including stints with the San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons.
He might be best known for suffering a gruesome injury during a Dec. 26, 2010 game between his visiting ‘Niners and the St. Louis Rams.
Troubling video and photos of the injury showed up Adams’ left ankle and foot appearing to be snapped and pointing in different directions while pinned under a Rams player.
He was cut after that rookie season, before the cornerback bounced to several other teams.
During his stint with the Raiders, Adams suffered at least two concussions late in the 2012 season.
“I think the football messed him up,” Alonzo Adams, a man who identified himself as the former player’sfather, told WCNC, an NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. Adams did not elaborate on the details of any football-related injuries his son may have suffered.
The elder Adams was at a loss to explain the carnage that unfolded on Wednesday, before the former player died early Thursday.
“All I can say is we pray for the family,” Alonzo Adams said. “He used to be my doctor a long time ago. I know they were good folks down there. We’re gonna keep them in our prayers.”
Robert Lesslie was the founder and medical director of Riverview House Calls & Riverview Hospice and Palliative Care, according to the company’s website. He received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and practiced in Rock Hill for 40 years, the website said.
He and his wife had four adult children and eight grandchildren.
“We are truly in the midst of the unimaginable,” the Lesslie family said in a Thursday statement. “The losses we are suffering cannot be uttered at this time. While we know there are no answers that will satisfy the question ‘why,’ we are sure of one thing: we do not grieve as those without hope.”
Trent Faris, the sheriff’s spokesman, who has lived in Rock Hill his entire life, said Lesslie was his childhood doctor.
“A lot of people know Dr. Lesslie,” Faris said. “This is a very tragic, tragic situation.”
Investigators did not immediately determine a motive for the shooting.
The 32-year-old Adams played in 78 NFL games between 2010 and 2015, making 121 tackles and picking off five passes.
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims of this devastating tragedy,” the NFL said in a statement.
Adams attended South Carolina State University, a historically Black college in Orangeburg.
The all-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference performer was picked in the seventh round of he 2010 NFL Draft by San Francisco.
Wilson Wong contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
