A sixth person has died following 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 from Cherryville, North Carolina, has died from injuries sustained in the Wednesday shooting while he was working at the home, according to York County Coroner Sabrina Gast.
Phillip Adams, 32, killed Rock Hill physician 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 had been working with Shook at the Lesslie home, authorities said.
Adams later shot himself to death. His brain is now being examined for possible degenerative disease that has been shown to cause violent mood swings and other cognitive disorders in some athletes and members of the military.
Phillip Adams shot himself to death early Thursday after killing six people in South Carolina
Robert Shook, 38, an air conditioning technician from Cherryville, North Carolina, has died from injuries sustained in the Wednesday shooting
The shooting happened at the home of d Rock Hill physician Robert Lesslie, bottom left. His wife, Barbara and two of their grandchildren also died in the shooting
Another air conditioning technician, James Lewis, who had been working with Shook at the Lesslie home also died
Shook died at Atrium Health Care in Charlotte after he was airlifted from the scene on Wednesday, the Charlotte Observer reported.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson told the outlet on Saturday night that his deputies were devastated that the only survivor of the shooting had died.
'We all had hoped and prayed that Robert Shook would survive this. We are deeply, deeply saddened,' Tolson said.
York County deputies have still not determined a motive for the mass shooting, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Shook, right, died at Atrium Health Care in Charlotte after he was airlifted from the scene on Wednesday
Shook, pictured, and Lewis both worked for GSM Services, an HVAC company in Gastonia - which has started a GoFundMe for their families
Shook and Lewis both worked for GSM Services, an HVAC company in Gastonia, North Carolina - which issued a statement on Saturday night about Shook's death.
'We are all heart broken and our attention must turn to comforting each other and Robert's family,' the company said, according to the Charlotte Observer.
'Please keep his family in your prayers tonight and in the coming days as we all face this together.'
The company has also set up a GoFundMe campaign to benefit the family members of its two employees.
'Both men involved in this horrific incident are long-standing, beloved members of our family at GSM,' the company wrote on GoFundMe.
'These men are family focused, up-beat, and wonderful team members who cared about all the people they encountered.'
Alonzo Adams, the former NFL pro's father, told WCNC that 'football messed him up'
Phillip Adams #28 of the Oakland Raiders intercepts a pass taking it away from Josh Gordon #13 of the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on December 2, 2012
Adams, pictured, suffered two concussions over three games in 2012 and his brain will be analyzed for CTE
Gast told McClatchy Newspapers on Friday that she had been given approval by Adams' family for the procedure to be included as part of his autopsy, which will be performed at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Adams played in 78 NFL games over six seasons for six teams.
He joined the 49ers in 2010 as a seventh-round draft pick out of South Carolina State, and went on to play for New England, Seattle, Oakland and the New York Jets before ending his career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015.
As a rookie, Adams suffered a severe ankle injury and never played for the 49ers again. Later, with the Raiders, he had two concussions over three games in 2012.
Whether he suffered long-lasting concussion-related injuries wasn't immediately clear.
Adams would not have been eligible for testing as part of a broad settlement between the league and former players over such injuries, because he hadn't retired by 2014.
'I can say he's a good kid. I think the football messed him up,' Alonzo Phillips, the former footballer's father, told WCNC.
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