Two people are dead and seven are injured after a man entered a Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tenn., Sunday morning and began firing a shotgun during a children-led service until other churchgoers were able to apprehend him. According to the Associated Press, Police arrested Jim D. Adkisson, 58, of Powell, Tenn., and are holding him on $1 million bond. Adkisson allegedly entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun. One of the deceased victims, 60-year-old Greg McKinley, reportedly shielded several others from the bullets. The other person who was killed was 61-year-old Linda Kraeger. Of the seven who were injured, four were listed in critical condition and another in serious condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. No children were harmed. Numerous church members took video of the assault on cell phones and cameras and have turned the footage over to police. According to police reports, the suspect was able to conceal his weapon in order to walk through the entryway of the church into the main portion of the sanctuary. No members of the church had ever seen the man before. The FBI is assisting in the investigation. More information was revealed through an Agence France-Presse story. After more investigation, police determined that Adkisson is unemployed and has a bitter distaste for the “liberal movement.” They concluded this after recovering a four-page letter that the suspect wrote. It also appears from the letter that the suspect acted alone. The Unitarian Universalist congregation where the shooting occurred welcomes homosexuals to worship and houses meetings for a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. This latest tragedy reveals the need for churches across the country to beef up security and to examine their current practices.
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