WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The father of former National Football League (NFL) player Phillip Adams said Thursday his son fatally shot five people and injured another in York County, South Carolina, the previous day before taking his own life.
"I can say he's a good kid. He was a good kid," Alonzo Adams said of his son when being interviewed by Atlanta, Georgia-based WXIA-TV from inside his car. "I think the football messed him up. I don't think he ever did anybody any harm."
A doctor, his wife and their two grandchildren, as well as a fifth person were shot and killed late Wednesday at the doctor's home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
The York County sheriff's office in an early Thursday tweet identified the deceased as Dr. Robert Lesslie, his wife Barbara, and two of their grandchildren, as well as James Lewis, who died outside the house.
York County coroner's office said Adams, 32, was found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds at a home on the same road as that of the Lesslies, following a standoff with police.
The police were serving a search warrant at the time of encounter with Adams, the county sheriff's spokesman, Trent Faris, told reporters. A sixth victim was taken to a hospital with serious gunshot wounds, according to Faris.
The sheriff's office didn't elaborate on who the suspect was, saying in a Facebook statement that "there is no active threat to the community."
"There's nothing about this right now that makes sense to any of us and that's why we're working so hard to try to get more information," York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. "Numerous investigators are seeking those answers and can hopefully provide some why to the family."
Tolson said Robert Shook, the sixth victim who was injured, was in critical condition, and that Shook worked together with Lewis for GSM Services in York County.
Tolson said there was evidence at the scene that tied Adams to the killings but did not elaborate.
Alonzo Adams, the father, said he knew Lesslie and had even been his patient a "long time ago."
"I know they were good folks down there," he said. "I don't know what happened or not. We're going to keep them in our prayers. You all keep us in your prayers."
Adams was a football player who played for six teams in six seasons in the NFL. He was also a college football star playing for South Carolina State University.
Some 26 miles (about 42 km) south of Charlotte, North Carolina, Rock Hill is a small city where neighbors all know each other. Faris said Lesslie had been his childhood doctor. Enditem
