Shooter Railed Against Liberals, Gays

FBI Probing Hate Crime Angle After Gunman Kills 2 In Tennessee Church During Children's Play

(CBS/AP)  The man accused of a gun attack at a church that killed two people and seriously wounded five others apparently selected the congregation because of its liberal social stance, according to the Knoxville, Tenn., police chief.

Jim D. Adkisson, 58, is in custody and charged with first-degree murder in the shootings. He is being held on $1 million bond.

Officials said five people remain in the hospital - four in critical condition, one serious.

At a press conference Monday morning Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a 4-page letter discovered in Adkisson's car following the attack at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning revealed his frustration over not being able to find work, with his anger targeting gays and what he called "the liberal movement."

"He seemed obsessed, saying he hated the 'liberal movement,'" Owen said. "He did express frustration that the 'liberal movement' was getting more jobs. He felt he was being kept out of the loop because of his age and because he was not liberal."

When asked if the letter contained vulgarities or profanities, Owen said, "It wasn't very complimentary."

The letter, which was not addressed to anyone specifically but was signed by Adkisson, did indicate that he specifically targeted the church. "It appears that church had received some publicity in the recent past regarding its liberal stance on things," said Owen.

The church is known for advocating women's and gay rights and founding an American Civil Liberties Union chapter.

He also said there was no indication that Adkisson was targeting the children.

"He intended to take a lot of casualties - he had at least 76 rounds on him," Owen said.

He said the letter indicated Adkisson did not expect to leave the church alive.

The 12-gauge number 4 semi-automatic shotgun was purchased a month ago. Adkisson had no other weapons on him when he was apprehended but police recovered a .38 handgun at his house.

It was revealed that Adkisson had been a member of the 101st Airborne and according to his resume had worked at a variety of places around the country. He holds an associate's degree in mechanical engineering but was last actively employed in the Knoxville area in 2006.

His frustration at not being able to find work was apparently exacerbated by a letter police say Adkisson recently received from the state saying he was losing some or all of his food stamp benefits. "That gave him even greater concern," Owen said.

He has no next of kin and no family, according to his statement to police.

Police said they did not know when the letter would be released as it is evidence. None of the several videos taken in the sanctuary will be released.

"It's important for us to ensure that the evidence is treated properly, legally, and that we don’t run into any evidentiary problems."

Police have been joined by the FBI in investigating if this is a hate crime because of the church community's work on social issues.

One neighbor reported that Adkisson had problems with Christianity.

More than 200 people were in attendance of a children's play Sunday morning when Adkisson walked in with a 12-gauge shotgun and a bag full of ammunition and began firing.

"It was shock and you're trying to have it make sense in the context of where you're at - you're in church," said Jamie Parkey.

Church member Marty Murphy told The Knoxville News Sentinel that she was about 30 to 40 feet from the shooter when the rampage began.

She said church members dove under church pews and others ran out the sanctuary.

Murphy told the newspaper some of the children were close to the shooter when the attack began.

"One little girl had blood all over her," she said. "She was just hysterical. I don't know how that girl is going to sleep tonight."

"Right after the play had started, we were sitting there and heard a loud explosion," Terry Uselton told CBS' The Early Show. "Couldn't figure out what was going on; we thought maybe it was something with the lighting or something went wrong. Heard a second explosion. And then I turned around to look and saw a man standing in the doorway with a gun. And so I got up from my seat and started toward him."

Uselton helped tackle Adkisson to the ground.

He said, being a teacher, he has thought through scenarios of how to protect children in the event of a school shooting. "This is one of those cases," Uselton said. "That was my thought: 'Somebody's got to stop this guy.'"

Another witness told the newspaper that the man killed was a hero.

"Greg McKendry stood in the front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us," Barbara Kemper said.

McKendry's foster son Taylor Bessette watched it happen.

"He stood in front of the bullets between the child and the gunman and actually took the bullets to save the child," said Bessette.

When it was over, eight people were injured and 60-year-old McKendry lay dead. Sixty-one-year-old Linda Kraeger, another of the victims, died in the hospital last night. No children were physically injured.

Afterwards, Uselton said, his three grandchildren had many questions which he struggled to answer. "We talked a lot about it after it happened. We were very forthcoming. And these are just things you can't explain. But we talked about it. And I think that was very helpful to them."

Uselton, who has attended the church for 24 years, knew McKendry.

"Our hearts go out to Greg and Linda and their families and the tragic loss," he said. "Greg was a wonderful guy, wonderful person in the church. He was just a great person. And his loss will be felt for a long time. We really are going to miss him."

Police have no motive yet for the crime.

One witness said the shooter started by shouting "hateful words."

[whatsup49]

shame on you gop_forever, saying something so hurtful and inappropriate. god doesn''t act in that manner. when did god die and appoint you to decide what church is the correct church in which to worship?

[abmitus]

God Bless You All.

[leftyintexas]

Obviously God was sending a strong message to these people that this is an incorrect church and they should worship him in a more correct place.

Posted by GOP_forever at 08:47 AM : Jul 28, 2008

You are part of the reasons why this country is due for some much needed major changes. That will happen in November. Only 176 days left! Enjoy!

[prelgovisk]

GOP_Forever is like that play, "Spring Time for Hitler" from the movie, "The Producers." He is putting out his idiocy to achieve the goal of causing a failure to the party imbedded in his name.

And like in the Producers, it is a scam. He is really just the opposite, an Obama staff member looking to use this sad story to the benifit of his candidate, no matter who it hurts.

[kamsack50]

Gee, I wonder why CBS won''t let this story go, even though there was only one fatality and way out in the country.
Hmmm....Couldn''t be because it''s church and religion, could it. I mean, could you imagine them keeping on with this story if the guy had decided to go bananas at a bowling alley?

[welshwoman-2009]

Mental illness kills again. How sad.

[lloydbest1]

Making sense out of a tragedy like this is just about impossible. There is no more logic to this kind of carnage than there is to that created by the suicide bomber of today or of the burning of witches in the past.
That this is a hate crime is not yet certain but it''s begining to look very much like it might be.
Assuming it is and assuming Adkisson''s reported bitter antipathy toward anything Christian is an accurate assessment, then it is no more acceptable for him to murder innocent people whose only "crime" is good Christian practise than it is for those idiots in Pennsylvania to whack that Mexican immigrant because of his immigration status.
As unskilled as I am at offering words of comfort, my thoughts are with those most affected and may they find - or be granted the strength to endure.

[concorde5]

White Folks!

[wolfear1]

Well, GOP if the Jackboot fits.......

[irliberal]

Hmmm looks like a Christian terrorist to me. Sounded like he was upset that the church he attacked supports gay and lesbian people.

[irliberal]

zoe2006, now thats the second Hitler comparison I have had today. Thats not nice.

Posted by GOP_forever at 09:56 AM

Hitler was human, you''re an animal. You have the nerve to insult the church that was attacked. Typical GOP.

[ubrew12]

"One neighbor reported that Adkisson had problems with Christianity"

Possibly he asked God to quiet the voices. Maybe he asked society also. Society wouldn''t help him, but thanks to lax gun control it would help him get a 12 gauge shotgun.

[petesis]

Problems with Christianity? A Unitarian church would be the last place attacked. There is more to this than is being said.

[eggy1620]

Lax gun control isn%u2019t the problem. Lax maniac control is the problem. Bring back institutions and involuntary commitals.

[leftyintexas]

Lack of gun control, oversight and accountability -

Posted by zoe2006 at 09:39 AM : Jul 28, 2008

And probably an NRA and GOP member to boot...

[wdrussell1]

No matter how much or how little gun control you have, there will always be idiot people.

[wolfear1]

My guess is the the "right" church would probably be "Jesus Christ-Christian" for the Aryan Nation. Look, yet another Hitler comparison.

[stevex47]

Yet another psycho neocon with a weapon.

He should be the poster child for the NRA. He must have graduated from the cheney school for guns.

[gwagener]

I see a similarity between the Knoxville shootings and the Iraq bombings. Religion is about hate. It exists only to group people together to hate other people and kill other people.

[stevex47]

Diatreme,
HA !"This right is the MOST FUNDAMENTAL OF ALL."

Um, NOOOO. THE FIRST AMENDMENT kind of trumps the 2nd amendment. Called the RIGHT TO LIFE (liberty and pursuit of happiness !

[lloydbest1]

"zoe2006, a correct church is one where the good people go." Posted by GOP_forever at 10:50 AM : Jul 28, 2008

And based on its record of liberal social activism, tolerance and respect of varying faiths and pursuit of social and economic justice for our most vunerable; the Tennessee Valley UU church is the exemplar supreme of the "correct" church and to which good people naturally gravitate.

[smiley676]

GOP_forever
zoe2006, a correct church is one where the good people go.


Obviously, your no invited.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by zoe2006

Actually, Jesus said to call no man good, not even him. If someone is not invited to the church, it isn''t a correct church. Church should be open to all, as this church was.

[matter77]

gwagener probably read books by Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris - this shooter is exactly what those authors wanted and intended to happen. They sprinkle their books of hatred with incendiary references to other religions just to camoflage their hatred for Christianity. It isn''t enough for them to hate Christians, they want them all dead.

Remarks by droids like gwagener should remove any doubt these killings will continue, and more books will be published by pseudo-scientific atheists that blame Christianity for everything and spout off about eliminating the problem.

Notice it isn''t enough they don''t like the Bible or think it is a joke, they want you dead for reading it. Get used to it. There is a new wave of insanity coming upon the West because of these books, and people like gwagener. This shooting is no different than the other church shootings, like the wicked murder of innocent Amish schoolchildren, only to be followed by more books from Harris, Hitchens, and Dawkins spouting hatred for the Bible and anyone who reads it.

[TommyCraig]

"I now know why I don''''t bother going to a church. My feeling is you don''''t have to be in a special building to talk to God. With the way you are all talking about my church is better than your church need to get a life. Especially you "GOP_Forever". You need a reality check".
Posted by lilturkey at 11:06 AM : Jul 28, 2008
You are absolutely correct! You do not need to be in a special building to talk or worship God! We come together, whether in a home, community center, or church to fellowship. That is, worship God collectively.

[galileo1234]

Chalk this one up to crazy right wing radio, which is getting crazier.

[wdrussell1]

In March 05, in Wisconsin the religion which I follow, a guy opened fire and killed 7 members. And he was a member also.
Things like this happen.

[TommyCraig]

"One neighbor reported that Adkisson had problems with Christianity."

Who doesn`t?

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 11:09 AM : Jul 28, 2008
Nancy,
This was not a Christian Church. It is a church that allows all religions.
Why do you have a problem with Christ?

[sandsofchlai]

"Church Shooting Suspect ''Hated Liberal Movement'' Cops say man charged with murder in Tennessee church left letter detailing anger at being unemployed, hatred of liberals"

"Shots Fly as Kids Perform ''Annie''"


Another mislead far right wing neocon GOP ku.ntpu.nk!

Shoot at children in a church!!! Republincan s.***!
PRAISE JEEEZZZBUS!!!! Can I cit an AAAHHHHMEN!!

[smiley676]

This was not a Christian Church. It is a church that allows all religions.
Why do you have a problem with Christ?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by tcandrews62

Don''t bother fighting with Nancy. You just can''t have a reasoned discussion with ignorance.

[ubrew12]

DaVicar2 said: "I would rather have all the ''idiots'' running around with butter knives, or pointy sticks...leave the guns to us smart people! "
Exactly. That''s what responsible gun control is about, making sure that those who own guns, own them responsibly. Make them DEMONSTRATE IT. That might help weed out walking catastrophe''s like this guy.

That ''if guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns'' fiction is disproven DAILY in every developed country in the world (that''s right, they ALL have gun control that we lack here in the U.S., and because of it their chances of dying of a gunshot wound is 1/100 th of our chances in this country).

Someone wrote that their right to defend their children should be defended. Incorporate responsible gun control, and your childs chance of dying of a gunshot wound goes down to 1/10th to 1/100th its current chance. That''s just plain statistics, and its been true for 20 years. Your ''right'' to defend your children from criminals by owning a gun is KILLING THEM.

[amesmb]

"Sorry, the Unitarian Universalist Church IS NOT a Christian Church...they more or less worship themselves, and their personal search for spiritual growth."

That''s funny- I sometimes attend a UU fellowship and the pastor there is Christian.
Learn more at www.uua.org; UU beliefs are defined there as clear as day.

[jon2012-2009]

"He almost turned angry," she told the newspaper. "He seemed to get angry at that. He said that everything in the Bible contradicts itself if you read it."

He''s right about that but it doesn''t excuse the violence. It does make a point, which is needless, that a church--a Christian church or any church--offers no more sanctuary than other public places where such attacks have occurred. Fast-food restaurants, schools, workplaces. Gun versus prayer? Gun wins.

[stevex47]

Somebody splain to me about reich wing nutjobs. They''re reckless with guns(ask cheney), run record deficits, start reckless wars, commit treason outting CIA agents, corrupt as the day is long, housing failures, flip flop to no end, yet not one of them is willing to take an iota of blame for all the fiasco''s.

Stop destroying the world nutjobs.
Mission Accomplished nutjobs.

[logo47]

Any time a murder like this happens, it is wrong, senseless, and no one has a right to take a life because they disagree with someone else''s belief. I do hope that maybe someone will change their way of life because of this terrible thing that has happened. If this was actually a church that loves and oibeys God''s word, it wouldn''t be promoting gay rights, women''s rights, and such. Of course It is so sad the the name "Christianity" has been so misused and tarnished by people who claim to be, and really aren''t living up to it, that the world just is disgusted with hearing about "Christianity" at all. The thing that a true christian should be doing, is reaching out, loving, and praying for all of these people who are not living according to God''s word. Not doing what so many are really doing, which is judging, criticizing, hating.

[timdgrim]

This guy should have tried to get a job with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year. He would have fit right in (and I emphasize Right) with Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson. Third Reich tactics were right up their alley...though not quite as extreme.

[jon2012-2009]

"Sorry, the Unitarian Universalist Church IS NOT a Christian Church...they more or less worship themselves, and their personal search for spiritual growth."

That''''s funny- I sometimes attend a UU fellowship and the pastor there is Christian.
Learn more at www.uua.org; UU beliefs are defined there as clear as day.
Posted by Amesmb at 11:31 AM : Jul 28, 2008

We''re already in the 21st century AD and people are still arguing about what a correct Christian church is. How long has it been since the idea that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around, became accepted as scientific fact?

[joker1944-2009]

Ann Coulter
Bill O''Reilly
Michael Savage
Sean Hannity
Matt Drudge
David Horowitz
...and all the other conservative talking heads profiting from helping and encouraging Americans to hate other Americans.

You didn''t pull the trigger here. But IMO you are just as guilty as the gunman. You have helped create an environment so poisonous and volatile people can justify murder simply because the victims think and believe differently.

I can only imagine the OUTRAGE from the conservatives if a liberal had shot up a church. But somehow they''ll find a way to blame Bill Clinton or the ''librul'' media for this tragedy.

[jimfinster]

This is the end result of the relentless hate speech from the extreme right-wing Republicans. Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O''''Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage. You all might as well have been the shooter.

[wdrussell1]

I don''t know jon2012. I think we still have a few Senators from the midwest, who thinks the Sun revoloves around the Earth.

[jon2012-2009]

Someone wrote that their right to defend their children should be defended. Incorporate responsible gun control, and your childs chance of dying of a gunshot wound goes down to 1/10th to 1/100th its current chance. That''''s just plain statistics, and its been true for 20 years. Your ''''right'''' to defend your children from criminals by owning a gun is KILLING THEM.
Posted by ubrew12 at 11:30 AM : Jul 28, 2008

Thanks for a breath of fresh logic in these posts even if it''s wasted on those who need it.

[winslowe1]

This must pose quite a dilemma for the American Criminal Liberation Union ... how are they going to get this guy off when he shot up the undesirables that founded one of their chapters?

[joker1944-2009]

From the article:

''His frustration at not being able to find work was apparently exacerbated by a letter police say Adkisson recently received from the state saying he was losing some or all of his food stamp benefits.''

What? I thought conservatives HATED social programs! Y''know, welfare mothers and so forth. Isn''t taking handouts from the government supposedly a liberal concept?

It''s little wonder conservative freaks like this crack. They are living contradictions. It must be a sad day when you realize you have become all that you hate.

It''ll be interesting to learn more about this nut''s background. I wonder if he was a faithful viewer of FOX News....

[mrmazerati]

I agree that Rush, Coulter and the rest are egging these people on. They''re probably happy about this.

[armydog2]

The "christian" neocon nutcases have finaly turned into the very thing they profess to hate, RADICALS using violence against those who do not believe or worship the same way they do. nice job of destroying everything this country was founded on.

[whatsup49]

shame on all of you who are judging this church and its members. who are you to decide what is a correct church and what isn''t. the bible said judge not lest ye be judged. who appointed any of you to the position of judge. the last time i checked, god hadn''t died and no one has been appointed to replace him.

[jimfinster]

The "christian" neocon nutcases have finaly turned into the very thing they profess to hate, RADICALS using violence against those who do not believe or worship the same way they do. nice job of destroying everything this country was founded on.

Posted by armydog2


It started years ago, with the shootings and bombings at abortion facilities.

[digitaleye3]

Great , another right-wing psycho gets pissed because his govenment program food stamps got cut off. Death by Irony seems to be the fate of the Right in this country.

[usclimey]

I''ve always said that the difference between liberal and conservative philosophy is that to a liberal it''s OK to be conservative, but to a conservative it''s wrong to be liberal. Limpbore and his acolytes espouse this every day; this guy just proved it beyond a doubt.

[jon2012-2009]

I don''''t know jon2012. I think we still have a few Senators from the midwest, who thinks the Sun revoloves around the Earth.
Posted by WDrussell1 at 11:52 AM : Jul 28, 2008

Probably. But I used the qualifier "scientific" in reference to this basic astronomy precisely to exclude the ignorant.

[jimfinster]

It is a hellbound cult.

Posted by mike071067


If there is a hell, you certainly belong there.