COLUMBIA, SC – A sixth person died in a shooting earlier this week at the hands of a former NFL player who also killed four members of a South Carolina family, local officials said on Saturday.
Robert Shook, 38, an air conditioning technician in Cherryville, North Carolina, died from his gunshot wounds Wednesday while working from home, according to York County coroner Sabrina Gast.
Authorities say Phillip Adams killed Rock Hill doctor Robert Lesslie; his wife, Barbara; two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie; and another air conditioning technician, James Lewis, who worked with Shook at Lesslie’s house.
Adams was shot later. His brain is now being screened for possible degenerative diseases that have been shown to cause violent mood swings and other cognitive impairments in some athletes and members of the military.
Adams, 32, has played in 78 NFL games in six seasons for six teams. He joined the 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick in South Carolina and, although he rarely started, he continued to play for the New England, Seattle, Oakland and New York Jets before ending his career. with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015.
As a rookie, Adams suffered a serious ankle injury and never played for the 49ers again. Later, along with the Raiders, he had two contusions in three games in 2012.
It was not immediately clear whether he had sustained concussion injuries. Adams would not have been eligible for testing as part of a broad agreement between the league and former players for such injuries, as he did not retire until 2014.