07/28/2008
Knoxville Shooter Targeted Church Over Hate for Liberals and Gays
Jim Adkisson (above, center), the gunman in Knoxville who killed two and injured seven at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning targeted the church because he hated liberals and gays, police said. The church was an active supporter of human and gay rights issues.
The Knoxville Sentinel reports: "The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was motivated by a hatred of 'the liberal movement,' and he planned to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this morning. Jim D. Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his 'hatred of the liberal movement,' Owen said. 'Liberals in general, as well as gays.' Adkisson said he also was frustrated about not being able to obtain a job, Owen said.The letter, recovered from Adkisson’s black 2004 Ford Escape, which was parked in the church’s parking lot at 2931 Kingston Pike, indicates he had been planning the shooting for about a week."
Adkisson did not plan to leave the church alive, police said: "Officers recovered 76 shells for a 12-gauge, semiautomatic shotgun inside the church. Among those shells were three spent rounds. He had carried the shotgun inside the church in a guitar case, Owen said. 'He certainly intended to take a lot of casualties,' the chief said. Adkisson is accused of killing two people and injuring seven others. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Greg McKendry, 60. Also killed in the shooting was Linda Kraeger, 61, who was visiting the church from Westside Unitarian Universalist Church."
Posted 12:08 PM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, News, Tennessee | Permalink
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Nice comment, Noah.
Thank you!
Posted by: Gary | Jul 28, 2008 5:14:05 PM
Hate murders always increase during elections, because christist bigots and those who pander to them fuel the flames of hate 24/7/365. Fox News does it. Dobson does it. Catholic bishops and Ratzinger Der Pope do it but so do Obama and McCain. Both continue to blurt out their bigoted opposition to same sex marriage, giving a green light to thugs, telling them that we’re second class citizens who don't deserve the elementary right to be married.
And to be fair, Obama and McCain aren’t the only politicians who do it. Some of the blame clearly lies with Congressional Democrats and Republicans who decided that our rights and lives were expendable. They gutted ENDA and tossed it and the hate crimes bill into the trash and refused to repeal DOMA and DADT.
The Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years so most of the blame is theirs. The Republicans were delighted to go along for the ride but they weren't driving the bigot bus that ran over us.
The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill passed both Houses of Congress before Reid, Pelosi, Kennedy and Barney Frank tossed it into the trash. These murders belong to them.
McCain is a rancid right-winger with the Rev. Pat Robertson attached at the hip. Obama is Bill Clinton (DOMA, DADT, NAFTA) in drag with the Rev. Donnie McClurkin attached at the hip.
Posted by: Bill Perdue, RainbowRED | Jul 28, 2008 5:35:13 PM
Some people are just crazy. And I'm not talking about the murderer.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Jul 28, 2008 6:05:33 PM
How is this guy any different from suicide bombers or other terrorists?
My thoughts are with those good people who were injured and the families of those who were killed by this domestic terrorist.
Posted by: Timothy | Jul 28, 2008 6:21:52 PM
Waiting for ann coulter to go on tv and defend this nut. After all, this is exactly what she advocates.
Posted by: Vi Agara | Jul 28, 2008 7:29:43 PM
UPDATE:
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.
So who has blood on their hands now?
Posted by: Kevinvt | Jul 28, 2008 8:44:22 PM
Just came across this blog. I was hunting for something else UU-related, because that's my religious affiliation. I've read Noah's penetrating comments. There aren't many blog postings as intelligent as that. One point of disagreement: I don't think Ann Coulter and the other hate-mongers believe the venom they spew. They just want to throw up a smoke screen of falsehood and paranoia to keep their followers voting against their own interests and for the corporations, e.g., the war profiteers.
Posted by: Victor Urbanowicz | Oct 1, 2009 11:56:25 PM