In remembrance of this shocking day, I reupload the blog post I made on Monday, August 20, 2008.
Jim D. Adkisson
First, here's what the Associated Press had to say:
" Police: Man shot churchgoers over liberal views
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD – 6 hours ago
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian Universalist church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its support of liberal social policies, police said Monday.
Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a signed, four-page letter written by Jim D. Adkisson, 58, was found in his small SUV in the church parking lot. The gunfire punctuated a children's performance based on the musical "Annie" Sunday, killing two and wounding seven.
"It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said at a news conference.
No children were hurt, but five people remained in serious or critical condition Monday. A burly usher who died was hailed as a hero for shielding others from gunfire at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Witnesses said some of the church members wrestled the suspect to the ground after he pulled a shotgun from a guitar case and fired three times.
Adkisson, who is charged with one count of first-degree murder, remained jailed Monday under "close observation" on $1 million bail, authorities said. More charges were expected.
Court records from neighboring Anderson County indicate Adkisson threatened violence against his spouse several years ago. In March 2000 his then-wife, Liza Alexander, obtained an order of protection against him after telling a judge that Adkisson had threatened "to blow my brains out and then blow his own brains out."
The woman's written request for protection, reviewed by The Associated Press, said she was "in fear for my life and what he might do."
The Unitarian-Universalist church promotes progressive social work, including advocacy of women and gay rights. The Knoxville congregation also has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site.
Owen said the letter indicated Adkisson, who neighbors said had previously worked as a truck driver, did not expect to leave the church alive. He added the man reported having no family or next-of-kin.
"He certainly intended to take a lot of casualties," Owen said. "He had 76 rounds with him."
Police said Adkisson carried a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun into the church in a guitar case, but it appeared no specific person was targeted. A search of his house also turned up a .38-caliber handgun, Owen added.
Owen said authorities believe the suspect had gone to the Unitarian church because of "some publicity in the recent past regarding its liberal stance on things."
Unitarians have roots in a movement that rejected Puritan orthodoxy in New England. Although individual Unitarian churches can vary dramatically in outlooks, most congregations retain a deep commitment to social justice, which has led many to embrace liberal stances on the ordination of women, civil rights and gay rights.
Adkisson lived in a surburb north of Knoxville, about a 20 minutes' drive from the Unitarian church in an established neighborhood of older homes and several other houses of worship.
The police chief said the shotgun was bought at a pawn shop about a month ago and Adkisson wrote the letter in the last week or so. But he added: "I am sure this is something that has been building a long time in terms of his anger."
He said the state recently sent a letter to Adkisson telling him food stamps he had been receiving would be reduced or eliminated.
Investigators were reviewing several video recordings of the performance by parents and church members. Owen said police would not release the videos nor Adkisson's letter until they have been entered into evidence.
The shooting started as about 200 people watched a show put on by 25 children.
Church member Mark Harmon said he was in the first row when he heard "an incredibly loud bang." He thought the noise was part of the play, then he heard another bang and saw a woman bleeding as he dove for cover.
"It seems so unreal," Harmon said.
Church members praised Greg McKendry, 60, saying he attempted to block the gunfire. Barbara Kemper said that McKendry, who died, "stood in the front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us."
Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire, though police said others didn't recall him saying anything.
"It was hateful words. He was saying hateful things," she said, refusing to elaborate.
"Greg McKendry was a very large gentleman, one of those people you might describe as a refrigerator with a head," said church member Schera Chadwick. "He looked like a football player. He did obviously stand up and put himself in between the shooter and the congregation."
A second victim who died hours later was identified as Linda Kraeger, 61.
Officials said Adkisson was arraigned Sunday night and faces his next court hearing Aug. 5.
The shooting follows a December 2007 spree in which a man shot four staff members at a missionary training center near Denver, Colo., killing two, after being told he couldn't spend the night. About 12 hours later and 65 miles away in Colorado Springs, police say the 24-year-old man fatally shot a parishioner at a megachurch and wounded four others before killing himself. "
---END OF STORY---
If there's one thing that angers me, it's senseless hate based on beliefs. I am, as I have said before, also a Unitarian Universalist, and proud of it; UUs have a long and proud history of social equality, justice, and liberal views behind them, with much work still being done. But that originally is not what caught my attention; it was this--that someone had stood up to this reckless hate perpetrated by the shotgun-toting Jim Adkisson: Greg McKendry, a burly sixty-year-old usher who, according to witnesses, stepped right up and shielded others from one shotgun blast with his own body, a most selfless and courageous act. At the time, it still hadn't struck me that it was a Unitarian Universalist congregation involved; all my attention was focused on McKendry, a man church members are rightly hailing as a hero. I may profess to have a world view of things, but when I see or hear of instances in which people act or speak based on the conviction that their beliefs are superior or better than those of others, and hence give them the right to act upon or say so, it simply burns my heart, and I become mad, mad at hate, mad at such destructive and elitist attitudes. I can't put what I feel in my soul into words, but let's just say that, as far as tolerance and equality and fairness and kindness are concerned, the world is black and white; there is a clearly defined right and wrong, and those values are clearly in the right, as far as I'm concerned, and those who say different aren't in line with the American values of the same names. Gays and lesbians deserve the right to marry because they are people, they are like us, and they deserve, and we are obligated to give them, equal rights. By the same token, liberals, conservatives, and centrists all have the right to speak on what they believe in, in the case of non-government organizations like churches or congregations, and because of that right they must not be attacked, physically or abusively, just because someone disagrees and hates them. And to be attacked because of promoting true American values of freedom and equality, that simply galls me. I find it hard to feel sympathy for Adkisson, a hateful, spiteful man. True, life was not going well for him, but he also had seventy-three rounds of ammunition, and plainly intended to use it in a situation involving kids, senior citizens, and others. To do so out of hate, to me, is inexcusable. The matter of punishment will surely be decided elsewhere, and it is not for me to say what that should be, nor will I say what I think should happen, mainly because I don't know. It's times like these when people like myself pit their reactions against their values and virtues, in this case anger and calls for retribution vying with ideals of compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. Only time will tell. My heart, soul, and feelings are with the friends and families of the victims today, and with those who suffered through such a torturous event. It is my fervent desire that Unitarian Universalism will continue to be the chalice, the guiding beacon leading towards social progress, and not the NRA bulls-eye that Mr. Adkisson made the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOAQKzY-aOBqDspFkEAV_ZO65vZAD926PRRO1
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOAQKzY-aOBqDspFkEAV_ZO65vZAD92730HG1
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jOAQKzY-aOBqDspFkEAV_ZO65vZAD92730HG1
most people don't know about this one: http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=41724
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