April 8, 2021- 9:15 a.m
Five people — including a doctor, his wife and two grandchildren — were killed in a mass shooting at a South Carolina home that ended early Thursday with a suspect in custody, authorities said.
The gunfire at a home in Rock Hill erupted at about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, killing Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, his wife Barbara Lesslie, 69, two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.
A fifth victim, James Lewis, 38, who was working at the home at the time, was also fatally shot. A sixth person, who was not immediately identified, was hospitalized with a serious gunshot wound, authorities said.
Investigators said they have identified a suspect in the mass shooting and detained him after finding him in a nearby home.
“There is no active threat to the community,” sheriff officials tweeted early Thursday.
The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was taken into custody about eight hours later, The State reported.
Robert Lesslie had been practicing medicine in Rock Hill since 1981, according to his biography on Riverview House Calls & Riverview Hospice and Palliative Care, where he worked as the medical director. He’s survived by four children. He and Barbara Lesslie had been married for more than 40 years, The State reported.
A spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office told the newspaper it’s unclear what connection, if any, the suspect had with the Lesslie family.
“We are all shocked this could happen here in York County,” spokesman Trent Farris said. “This is a mass shooting. Normally you think of a movie theater or a mall, but we are treating this as a mass shooting because there were five victims killed.”
Faris noted how prominent Lesslie had been in the Rock Hill community.
“He was my doctor, if that says enough,” Faris told The State.
Sheriff officials tweeted Wednesday they were looking for a “young black male” wearing a hoodie and camouflage pants after the six victims were found.
Faris declined to identify the alleged gunman or to give information about his condition at a news conference that ended after 1 a.m. Thursday, The State reported.
