WILMINGTON, N.C. – The death of a University of North Carolina-Wilmington professor, who recently announced his retirement amid backlash for comments he made on social media, has been ruled a suicide.

According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to a perform a welfare check at Mike Adams' home off Bayshore Drive in northern New Hanover County around 12:30 p.m. last Thursday. Upon arrival, deputies say they found Adams dead. 

An investigation showed the professor killed himself with a single gunshot wound to the head, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday.

Adams recently announced his retirement amid backlash over his comments on Twitter, in which called the state’s governor “Massa Cooper” and compared coronavirus restrictions to living in a “slave state.” The tweets, which the university denounced as “vile,” prompted more than 60,000 people to sign an online petition to get Adams fired from his job.

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The tenured sociology and criminology professor was due to retire early on Aug. 1. He recently reached a $504,702 settlement with the university for lost salary and lost retirement benefits.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.