The gunman who killed five people and then himself in a mass shooting on Wednesday in South Carolina was former NFL player Phillip Adams, according to the Associated Press citing an unnamed individual who was briefed on the investigation.
The shooting that took place Wednesday in Rock Hill, South Carolina, left five people dead, including two children and a prominent doctor in the region. The source, who spoke with AP on the condition of anonymity, said Adams’ parents lived near Rock Hill and that he had been treated by the doctor.
The source added that Adams killed himself after midnight with a .45-caliber weapon.
Adams, 33, played defensive back across multiple seasons for the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons and came to the NFL after playing at South Carolina State.
In the shooting on Wednesday, Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, were pronounced dead at the scene along with their grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5, according to the York County coroner’s office.
James Lewis, 38, was found shot to death outside the home. A sixth person was also hospitalized with “serious gunshot wounds,” according to the York County Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson. All the deaths were being investigated as homicides, but authorities have not yet released a name for the suspect or a motive, and they added that no one else was believed to be involved.
“We have found the person we believe is responsible and we are with him at this time and that’s all I can say about the suspect,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently at his house and we are serving a search warrant.”
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