7-27-08 TVUUC shooting, Knoxville, TN
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church(TVUUC)
On Sunday, July 27, 2008, at about 10:18am, one Jim D. Adkisson, 57, entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, pulled a shotgun out of a guitar case and started shooting.
Church members Greg McKendry, 60, and Linda Kraeger, 61, were killed, and several more wounded.
The shooter was overwhelmed by parishoners when he stopped to reload, who held him until police arrived.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/29/takedown-alleged-shooter-recounted/
--From one of the people who tackled the gunman: "The only thing he said was he was asking us to get off of him, that he wasn't doing anything," Parkey said. "We just looked at each other incredulously, like 'How dare you?' "
Investigators believe he fired three rounds, though another witness said 6 to 13.
Quotes from various online sources:
--The shooter, described as a white man with long blond hair, in his 40s, with a thin build, about 6 feet tall, was wearing jeans and a bloody T-shirt, according to church member Steve Drevik, 41.
--The FBI is assisting in the investigation
--the gunman was yelling "hateful things" and was wearing a red, white and blue T-shirt.
--(Church member Barbara)Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire.
"It was hateful words. He was saying hateful things," she said, but refused to elaborate.
--One witness tells 6 News as Adkisson moved through the church, he said, "I have it. I've got it." His face was covered with blood.
--Knoxville police and the FBI are reviewing a number of videos by parents and families of the performing children.
As usual, he left a trail in his vehicle and domicile:
--Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.
--Police claimed he was motivated by hatred of the liberal movement.
Jim D. Adkisson, 58, of Powell, wrote of his frustation with liberals and gays over getting jobs when he couldn't find one in a four page letter, not addressed to anyone. In the letter, Adkisson wrote he intended to kill people in the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church until police arrived and expected police to kill him.
The letter was found in his 2004 Ford Escape in church parking lot.
--Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.
--The state had informed Adkisson his food stamps would be eliminated or reduced. He had apparently last worked in Knoxville in 2006.
[I'm so mad at losing my welfare, I'm going to kill some liberals. Hmmmm.....]
BACKGROUND
--A neighbor who says she has known church shooting suspect Jim D. Adkisson, 58, for a few years tells Volunteer TV's Stephen McLamb that Adkisson has a problem with religion that stems from a childhood of being forced to attend church by his parents. The neighbor said Adkisson said the bible contradicts himself.
--10News has spoken off-camera to Adkisson's neighbors and landlord. None said they had any indication Adkisson would have been involved in something like a church attack.
Neighbor Karen Massey said Adkisson seemed like a nice guy who was always willing to help. She said she once had a conversation with Adkisson about religion and that he told her everything in the Bible was a contradiction, but Massey thought Adkisson had a strong Christian upbringing.
Adkisson's landlord said she did not know him well enough to make any comments on his character but said he was a good tenant who paid his bills.
--A neighbor told 10News Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson self-identified in this way to her on more than one occasion, but that she didn't know what he meant by it.
--"He always had the attitude the government was trying to get him,'' a ex-member said. "He disliked blacks, gays, anyone who was a different color or just different from him. "He's a very intelligent man but he couldn't get in the mainstream and hold a job,'' she said.
Military
Military records show Adkisson was a private in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1980 and served as a helicopter repairman for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. He was on active duty from 1974 to 1977 and was in the Individual Ready Reserve until 1980. He earned an expert badge for the M-16rifle and hand grenades and an aircraft crewman badge. Citing privacy issues, the military wouldn't release Adkisson's discharge status.
A search of criminal records shows only one offense, on April 5, 2000, or just after his fifth marriage fell apart.(DUI)
------------
http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/4470371/
Adkisson was scheduled to stand trial on March 16. His lawyer indicated last year an insanity defense was planned. The public defender would not say Wednesday what changed Adkisson's mind.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/05/man-to-admit-shooting/
"I've got an expert who can support a defense of insanity," (Knox County Public Defender Mark)Stephens revealed Wednesday when contacted to respond to a plea agreement struck in Adkisson's case. "(Adkisson) is rejecting that defense. I believe he is (currently) mentally competent. He understands he has that defense. But he is saying that is not the honorable thing to do."
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=77041
Jim D. Adkisson smiled in court as he pleaded guilty to opening fire in a Tennessee church last year....... He was given a life sentence.
dated 2-15-09
"Just another crazy, random church shooting," added an emotional (congregant John)Bohstedt.
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church(TVUUC)
On Sunday, July 27, 2008, at about 10:18am, one Jim D. Adkisson, 57, entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, pulled a shotgun out of a guitar case and started shooting.
Church members Greg McKendry, 60, and Linda Kraeger, 61, were killed, and several more wounded.
The shooter was overwhelmed by parishoners when he stopped to reload, who held him until police arrived.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/29/takedown-alleged-shooter-recounted/
--From one of the people who tackled the gunman: "The only thing he said was he was asking us to get off of him, that he wasn't doing anything," Parkey said. "We just looked at each other incredulously, like 'How dare you?' "
Investigators believe he fired three rounds, though another witness said 6 to 13.
Quotes from various online sources:
--The shooter, described as a white man with long blond hair, in his 40s, with a thin build, about 6 feet tall, was wearing jeans and a bloody T-shirt, according to church member Steve Drevik, 41.
--The FBI is assisting in the investigation
--the gunman was yelling "hateful things" and was wearing a red, white and blue T-shirt.
--(Church member Barbara)Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire.
"It was hateful words. He was saying hateful things," she said, but refused to elaborate.
--One witness tells 6 News as Adkisson moved through the church, he said, "I have it. I've got it." His face was covered with blood.
--Knoxville police and the FBI are reviewing a number of videos by parents and families of the performing children.
As usual, he left a trail in his vehicle and domicile:
--Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.
--Police claimed he was motivated by hatred of the liberal movement.
Jim D. Adkisson, 58, of Powell, wrote of his frustation with liberals and gays over getting jobs when he couldn't find one in a four page letter, not addressed to anyone. In the letter, Adkisson wrote he intended to kill people in the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church until police arrived and expected police to kill him.
The letter was found in his 2004 Ford Escape in church parking lot.
--Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.
--The state had informed Adkisson his food stamps would be eliminated or reduced. He had apparently last worked in Knoxville in 2006.
[I'm so mad at losing my welfare, I'm going to kill some liberals. Hmmmm.....]
BACKGROUND
--A neighbor who says she has known church shooting suspect Jim D. Adkisson, 58, for a few years tells Volunteer TV's Stephen McLamb that Adkisson has a problem with religion that stems from a childhood of being forced to attend church by his parents. The neighbor said Adkisson said the bible contradicts himself.
--10News has spoken off-camera to Adkisson's neighbors and landlord. None said they had any indication Adkisson would have been involved in something like a church attack.
Neighbor Karen Massey said Adkisson seemed like a nice guy who was always willing to help. She said she once had a conversation with Adkisson about religion and that he told her everything in the Bible was a contradiction, but Massey thought Adkisson had a strong Christian upbringing.
Adkisson's landlord said she did not know him well enough to make any comments on his character but said he was a good tenant who paid his bills.
--A neighbor told 10News Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson self-identified in this way to her on more than one occasion, but that she didn't know what he meant by it.
--"He always had the attitude the government was trying to get him,'' a ex-member said. "He disliked blacks, gays, anyone who was a different color or just different from him. "He's a very intelligent man but he couldn't get in the mainstream and hold a job,'' she said.
Military
Military records show Adkisson was a private in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1980 and served as a helicopter repairman for the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. He was on active duty from 1974 to 1977 and was in the Individual Ready Reserve until 1980. He earned an expert badge for the M-16rifle and hand grenades and an aircraft crewman badge. Citing privacy issues, the military wouldn't release Adkisson's discharge status.
A search of criminal records shows only one offense, on April 5, 2000, or just after his fifth marriage fell apart.(DUI)
------------
http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/4470371/
Adkisson was scheduled to stand trial on March 16. His lawyer indicated last year an insanity defense was planned. The public defender would not say Wednesday what changed Adkisson's mind.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/05/man-to-admit-shooting/
"I've got an expert who can support a defense of insanity," (Knox County Public Defender Mark)Stephens revealed Wednesday when contacted to respond to a plea agreement struck in Adkisson's case. "(Adkisson) is rejecting that defense. I believe he is (currently) mentally competent. He understands he has that defense. But he is saying that is not the honorable thing to do."
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=77041
Jim D. Adkisson smiled in court as he pleaded guilty to opening fire in a Tennessee church last year....... He was given a life sentence.
dated 2-15-09
"Just another crazy, random church shooting," added an emotional (congregant John)Bohstedt.
