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South Carolina mass shooting: What happened?

A local doctor and 2 children were among the 5 killed in the mass shooting, police say

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A York County sheriff vehicle drives onto the property where multiple people, including a prominent doctor, were fatally shot a day earlier, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Rock Hill, S.C.

A York County sheriff vehicle drives onto the property where multiple people, including a prominent doctor, were fatally shot a day earlier, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Rock Hill, S.C.

Nell Redmond, Associated Press

Police officials said there was a shooting in York County, South Carolina, on Wednesday that left five people dead, including a local doctor and two children.

The Associated Press reports that the gunman was identified as former NFL pro Phillip Adams, who killed himself Thursday.

  • An unnamed source told The Associated Press that “Adams’ parents live near the doctor’s home in Rock Hill, and that he had been treated by the doctor. The source said Phillips killed himself after midnight with a .45 caliber weapon.”

Details of York County, South Carolina, shooting

The York County Sheriff’s Office shared details of the shooting in a tweet:

  • “Sadly 5 people have died as a result of the shooting. Dr. Robert Lesslie & his wife, Barbara Lesslie were both found in the home & died as a result of gunshot wounds, as well as their 2 grandchildren. James Lewis of Gastonia, was working at the home & died from gunshot wounds.”
  • York County Sheriff spokesman Trent Faris told reporters there was another victim sent to the hospital with “serious gunshot wounds,” according to CNN.

Victims of the York County, South Carolina, shooting

Fox News reports that deputies arrived on scene at around 4:45 p.m. after a report of a shooting of multiple individuals, according to Fox News.

  • “It doesn’t happen here. It’s one of those strange things that a lot of people are going to have a hard time understanding and we just hope that everybody understands that we’re going to do everything we can to try to figure out why this happened here,” Faris said, according to Fox News.

Faris said the incident was a “case of a mass shooting,” CNN reports.

  • “This is a very tragic, tragic situation and the family does ask that you respect their privacy during this time,” Faris said.

Faris said authorities found the suspect of the shooting. He said he couldn’t give anymore details at time. “He lives on the same road,” Faris said of the suspect.

Any threat to York County?

The York County Sheriff’s Office said in another tweet that there is no active threat to the community.

  • “We have ID’ed the person we feel is responsible for the shooting on Marshall Rd. We found him in a nearby house. There is no active threat to the community. Detectives are still in the area serving a search warrant & investigating this tragic event.”