Jim Adkisson, filled with hatred against "liberals," and armed with a shotgun entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., yesterday morning and opened fire as congregants were watching a youth performance, killing two people and leaving at least seven others wounded before he was subdued by church members. He was a stranger to the church.
Amira Parkey, 16, had just uttered her first lines as Miss Hannigan in "Annie, Jr." when she heard a loud pop. "We were just, 'Oh, my God, that's not part of the play,' " Amira said, adding that she saw a man standing near the door of the sanctuary and firing into the room.
"The music director realized what was going on and she yelled, 'Get the hell out of here, everybody,' " said Sheila Bowen, 70, a church member. The cast of young actors, some of them as young as 6, was quickly herded out of the sanctuary. The nearby Presbyterian church found children wandering around on their grounds, and gave them hospitality until they could be reunited with their parents.
Gregory McKendry Jr., 60, a church board member and usher. was killed when he tried to shield his fellow congregants from the assailant. The other person killed was Linda Kraeger, 61, who died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours after the shooting.
Systemic violence arises in societies based on class, gender, and ethnic inequality in order to maintain the power of the privileged. This violence is organized and continuously encouraged so that the people will be ready to fight wars. There is no random violence, what we see here is the violence at the root of our society gone awry. Jim Adkisson had been prepared by this society for his whole life for this attack.
William Sinkford, the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association responded:
A tragedy such as this makes us acutely conscious of the beauty and fragility of our lives and those of our loved ones. I am especially saddened by this intrusion of violence into a worship service involving children and youth. I know that many people, both in Knoxville and around the country, are struggling with shock and grief right now. I pray that those so affected will find strength and comfort.
Members of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry are on their way to Knoxville to offer additional ministry to the congregation as it grieves. And Unitarian Universalists around the world are sending love and prayers to the Tennessee Valley congregation to tell them they are not alone on this dark day.
Leave a comment