"Liberal Hater" charged in Tennesee church killings

Shooter didn't expect to leave the church alive:

Jim D.Adkisson, an unemployed truck driver and avowed hater of liberal social policies, opened fired in a Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee on Sunday morning. The shooting began as a group of 200 people watched a production of "Annie" performed by 25 children. No children were hurt in the melee, but five people remained in serious or critical condition Monday, and two casualties were reported.

One man, usher Greg McKendry, 60, was hailed as a hero for shielding others from gunfire with his burly body. The second victim, who died hours later, was identified as Linda Kraeger, 61.

Several other men were able to rush the killer, wrestle him to the ground, and hold him until police arrived. Police Chief Sterling Owen stated that "He certainly intended to take a lot of casualties; he had 76 rounds with him."Court records from a neighboring county indicate that Adkisson threatened his wife with violence several years ago. In March of 2000 his then-wife, Liza Alexander, obtained a protective order against him after telling a judge that Adkisson had threatened "to blow my brains out and then blow his own brains out."

Owen added that 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.

Church member Amy Broyles, who was visiting the church to see her daughter in the play, reflected on the irony of the tragedy.

"This was a man who was hurt in the world and feeling that nothing was going his way," she said. "He turned the gun on people who were mostly likely to treat him lovingly and compassionately and be the ones to help someone in that situation."