2021 Rock Hill shooting

2021 Rock Hill shooting
Rock Hill, the location of the shooting, pictured in 2018
Location	Rock Hill, South Carolina, U.S.
Date	April 7, 2021 (2021-04-07) 4:45 p.m. EDT (20:45 UTC)
Attack type	Mass shooting, murder–suicide
Weapon	.45-caliber handgun 9 mm handgun
Deaths	7 (including the perpetrator who committed suicide)
Injured	0
Perpetrator	Phillip Adams

On April 7, 2021, six people were shot and killed at a house in Rock Hill, South Carolina by Phillip Adams, a former reserve defensive back in the National Football League. Adams, who lived in Rock Hill, killed four of the nearby Lesslie family (a couple and their two grandchildren), as well as two repairmen who were working on the Lesslies' household HVAC unit. After being found in his parents' house, police tried to negotiate with him. He then shot and killed himself, and was found dead the next day.

Adams' motive was never discovered. However, in his autopsy, he was diagnosed to have had a Stage II case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease which he likely received from damage to his frontal lobes while playing football. This included two concussions he received while playing for the Oakland Raiders in 2012. CTE is caused by repeated injuries to the head. It can lead to cognitive decline, and, when the frontal lobes are damaged, a lowering of the threshold it takes for someone to commit murder.

Background

Adams playing for the Oakland Raiders in 2012

Perpetrator

Main article: Phillip Adams (American football)

Phillip Adams was a professional football player for the National Football League (NFL). He played for six teams in 78 games over 78 seasons as a reserve defensive back. He joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2010 as a draft pick from South Carolina State University, and went on to play for the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, and finally the Atlanta Falcons, the team he was on when he retired from football in 2016.

In 2009, Adams was arrested for an assault and battery charge in Orangeburg, which he was not convicted of. The same happened when he was arrested for carrying a concealed gun in 2016 in Charlotte. In 2021, Adams was 32 years old, and lived in his hometown of Rock Hill in York County, South Carolina. His neighbors had thought of him as a "wounderful young man". Former Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith claimed that Adams did not use any drugs or drink alcohol. However, he often isolated himself, even to other players. His dad said that "he didn't talk much and he didn't bother nobody".

Victims

There were 6 victims of Adams' shooting in Rock Hill. Four of these victims were of the Lesslie family, who lived on Marshall Road: Dr. Robert Lesslie (age 70), his wife, Barbara Leslie (69), and their two grandchildren, Adah (9) and Noah (5) Lesslie. Their land was a forested plot with three buildings, one of which was used as their home. Adams lived about a quarter mile away from their house.

Dr. Robert Lesslie was a prominent local doctor who founded two urgent care centers, wrote medical advice books and a weekly medical column for The Charlotte Observer, and worked for Camp Joy, a center for children with disabilities. He and Barbara were known for their community service and charity. They were married for 40 years, and had four children and nine grandchildren. It is unknown if Adams and the Lesslies had any sort of relationship, including a doctor-patient relationship between Adams and Robert.

The other two victims were James Lewis (38), and Robert Shook (38), who had been working on the HVAC unit for Lesslie's house. They were both employees of Gaston Sheet Metal Services (GSM Services) in Gastonia, which worked on HVACs. Lewis had three children.

Shooting

Adams' shooting took place on Marshall Road at the Lesslie's home on April 7. That day, it had been the birthday of Robert and Barbara's daughter. They were watching their grandchildren while their daughter went out to dinner.

Police received two 911 calls around 4:45 p.m. EDT. One was from the HVAC company that employed Lewis and Shook; one of the two men had called the company, screaming, and saying that the other had been shot and was unresponsive. The other was from a man who was moving his lawn nearby, who heard about 20 shots fired at the Lesslie house. Once he heard the shots die down, a man walked out of the house. Both a .45-caliber weapon and a 9mm weapon were used in the shooting. Police said they did not know where Adams obtained the weapons.

Law enforcement response and Adams' suicide

The county sent out a phone call to at least one neighbor of the Lesslies, telling her to lock down her house. She also saw Robert and Barbara's daughter, and let the daughter into her (Ferguson's) house. Deputies also visited another neighbor's house, and advised them to stay inside. The York County Sheriff's Office tweeted that detectives were searching for a man wearing a black hoodie and camoflague pants, who was last seen in the area, and may be armed and dangerous. Residents were told to stay inside and lock their doors.

Alongside police, medical helicopters, an ambulance, and a SWAT team responded to the scene. Police cleared the house, and then found the two repairmen in the yard of the home by their trucks. Lewis was dead, and Shook was still alive then. The family were in a back room of the house. Shook was still alive at the time. Authorities searched the woods with dogs.

Police found evidence at the scene that quickly made Adams out to be the suspect, though they did not state what this evidence was. A manhunt searched for Adams, assisted by a drone and helicopter. It lasted for eight hours, before police found him at his parents' house around 9 p.m. However, a helicopter continued flying through the area until midnight.

The police spent several hours negotiating with Adams using a loadspeaker, trying to get him to surrender. At some point, Adams' parents were evacuated from the house, and police also sent in a robot to scan it. At 1 a.m., the media was briefed that Adams' location had been found. Police found Adams dead inside the house at 2:30 a.m. They also found both a .45-caliber and a 9mm handgun. The cause of death was listed as a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a .45-caliber handgun. The police said they did not hear the gunshot, although a neighbor heard a shot sound at 12:30 a.m.

Aftermath

External videos
"Former N.F.L. Player Kills 5 in South Carolina", The New York Times, April 8, 2021

Shook was flown to a Charlotte hospital in critical condition, and was given multiple surgeries. Despite this, he died days later. Shook was shot at least six times, and the fatal bullet pierced his liver. All the deaths were investigated as homicides.

Ceremonies were held at First ARP Church in Rock Hill and Gaston Steel Mill Services, and a memorial was made at Lesslie's medical office, which continued to operate. A GoFundMe campaign was made for the families of Shook and Lewis, which raised $400,000 that was split between the two of them. The remaining members of the Lesslie family asked that any memorials be made to Camp Joy.

On April 8, the York County Sheriff's Office said in a press conference that the perpetrator was Adams, confirmed by his father Alonzo Adams. They were also in the process of searching Phillip's home, and said they believed no other perpetrators were involved.

The York City Council, York City Government, President Joe Biden, Governor Henry McMaster, Representative Ralph Norman, GSM Services, and the NFL made statements regarding the shooting. Biden mentioned it in a speech about gun reform on April 8; he said “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic,” using Rock Hill as an example. On April 8, the South Carolina State Senate adjourned in the victims' memory.

In December, Holly Shook, the widow of Robert Shook, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Adams' estate. The lawsuit claimed that the Shook family suffered extreme emotional distress, as well as damages that exceeded $75,000 "exclusive of interest and costs".

Adams' motive

See also: Concussions in American football

The Sheriff's Office said after the shooting that they did not find a motive for Adams. He had had no prior criminal record.

A healthy human brain compared with one which has been damaged by CTE (the size of the damaged brain is not the size of Adams' brain at the time of his death)

Alonzo Adams suggested that Phillip's football career may have played a role in the shooting, stating that Phillip was a "good kid", and that the sport "messed him up". The York County Coroner's Office and researchers at Boston University conducted a study of Adams' brain. In December, an autopsy revealed that Adams suffered from an Stage II case of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). "Unusually severe" damage was found in his frontal lobes. CTE is caused by repeated injuries to the head, and can only be diagnosed after death. It causes cognitive decline, and when there is damage on the frontal lobes, it can lead to aggression, impulsive behaviors, a lack of self-control, and a lowering of the threshold it takes for someone to commit a homicidal act. Playing with the Raiders in December 2012, Adams suffered at least two concussions.

When Adams received the concussions, it was not clear if they would give him long-lasting injuries. He was not able to get tested for it as a part of the NFL's settlement with players regarding concussions; the settlement was only for players who had retired by 2014. By 2021, Adams had been suffering decreased mental health, intense pain, memory issues, and difficulty sleeping. He had tried to get help via a disability claim with the NFL multiple times; his family says his request was denied due to his inability to remember certain things and perform simple tasks, yet those effects were likely the result of his disease. Dr. Ann McKee of the Boston University CTE Center said that Adams' case of CTE was "definitely" caused by his football career, and compared Adams' level of brain damage to Aaron Hernandez, the NFL player who was convicted of a 2013 murder. McKee said the NFL needed to increase their efforts to prevent and track the disease, as well as test it in former players.

The Lesslie family said the diagnosis provided comfort for them, in how it gave an explanation for the murders. The NFL thanked the researchers for their work, saying the research will benefit them, and noted that they had committed $100 million to neuroscience researched in 2016.

In April 2023, Alonzo Adams filed a wrongful death lawsuit against South Carolina State University, seeking an unspecified amount of damages. He claimed that the school's negligence during Philip's football career at the university (from 2005 to 2009) lead to his CTE, and ultimately, his death. Specifically, the school allegedly failed to follow general safety practices, and educate Adams and their staff about concussions and head trauma.