A well-known emergency room doctor, his wife, their two grandchildren, ages 9 and 5, and a family employee died Wednesday afternoon in a
shooting at a home
near the city of Rock Hill, in York County, in South Carolina.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson reported Thursday afternoon at a news conference that the suspect in the shooting is former NFL player
Phillip Adams
, who committed suicide early Thursday morning after committing the crime.
"
There is nothing in this that makes sense to any of us
," the sheriff said.
What is known about what happened
Tolson said that around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a call for shooting at a home at 4400 Marshall Road.
During the press conference, the sheriff reproduced the
calls received by 911
to reporters
.
NFL player Phillip Adams was found shot in the head at his residence after committing the crime.
AP
Eight minutes after receiving the call, the agents arrived at the scene and
found 70-year-old Dr. Robert Lesslie with gunshot wounds;
his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69;
and her grandchildren, ages 9 and 5.
James Lewis, 38, an air conditioning technician doing some work for the family at the time, was also shot.
They all died at the scene.
Tolson said Adams' motive for the crime is unknown.
Nor is it known about the suspect's relationship with the victims: there is no indication that a doctor-patient relationship existed, at least not so far.
Robert Lesslie, 70, a renowned emergency room physician, was attacked inside his home in York County, South Carolina, via NBC News.
He added that they recovered
evidence at the crime scene that linked Adams
to the shooting, so investigators went looking for the former player, who lived with his parents near the doctor's home.
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After police tried to convince Adams to leave the home and turn himself in to authorities, he was found dead in a bedroom of his residence after shooting himself in the head, the sheriff said.
A sixth person was injured
in the shooting, which authorities say is in critical condition.
Authorities had earlier reported that the suspect in the shooting had been identified after an arduous pursuit of several hours.
"We have identified the person we believe is responsible for the shooting," said Trent Faris, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.
A shooting in South Carolina leaves five dead, two of them children
April 8, 202101: 01
Dr. Lesslie and
his family were "very prominent and well known"
in the county, Faris said, adding that he has lived his entire life in the area and that "Dr. Lesslie was my childhood doctor."
[A young pregnant Latina disappeared 40 years ago. His remains were found in suitcases on the bank of a river and only now have they been identified]
"The doctor was one of those people that everyone knew. He created Riverview Medical Center in Rock Hill and has been an essential person in Rock Hill for years," Faris said.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson reads a statement from the victims' families during a press conference Thursday, April 8, 2021, in York, South Carolina.
Lesslie worked and managed various Charlotte emergency rooms for more than 25 years.
He was also the medical director of the emergency department for nearly 15 years at Rock Hill General Hospital, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“My wife Barbara and I have
been married for 40 years
.
We have raised four children and now we have 6 grandchildren, ”says the doctor's biography on the social network for professionals.
With information from NBC News