ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) A gunman killed five people including a prominent doctor and his grandchildren in South Carolina, prompting an hourslong search that led to a suspect in a nearby home, the York County Sheriffs Office said.
The York County coroners office said Dr. Robert Lesslie, 70, and his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, were pronounced dead at the scene along with grandchildren Adah Lesslie, 9, and Noah Lesslie, 5.
A man who had been working at the home, James Lewis, 38, from Gaston, was found shot to death outside, and a sixth person was hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds, York County Sheriffs Office's spokesperson Trent Faris said.
Faris said deputies were called around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday to the Lesslies' home in the Rock Hill area, and spent hours searching for the suspect before finding him in a nearby home.
We have found the person we believe is responsible and we are with him at this time and thats all I can say about the suspect, Faris said.
The investigation is ongoing, he said.
Dr. Lesslie was my doctor growing up, Faris said. Dr. Lesslie has been one of those people that everybody knows. He started Riverview Medical Center in Rock Hill and its been a staple in Rock Hill for years.
A biography page of Dr. Lesslie said he and his wife of 35 years raised four children. He had been practicing medicine in Rock Hill since 1981, according to the Riverview website. He received his degree at the Medical University of South Carolina and has worked in the surrounding Rock Hill area and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Rock Hill is a city in northernmost South Carolina about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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This story has been corrected. Authorities said they found the suspect, not that they arrested or apprehended him.
