Knoxville Church Shooting

- Location: Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
- Time: 10:18 a.m.
- Perpetrator: Jim Adkisson
- Weapon: Shotgun
- Killed: Greg McKendry (age 60), Linda Kraeger, (age 61)

On July 27, 2008, unemployed truck driver Jim Adkisson strode into a Knoxville, Tennessee, church during Sunday morning worship, shouting "hateful things" and firing at random.KnoxNews.com: Gunman shoots 7 at church (July 27, 2008) Two victims were confirmed dead and were injured. The first victim to be pronounced dead, Greg McKendry, had taken a direct shotgun blast in order to protect other congregants.KnoxNews.com: Gunman shoots 7 at church (July 27, 2008) Adkisson was later convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.Fox News: Church Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison (February 9, 2009)
Motive

A suicide note left at Adkisson's home, as well as the testimony of neighbors and acquaintances, gives insight into Adkisson's intentions. He stated that he considered the Unitarian church "a den of un-American vipers," and that he would ideally have liked to murder every Democrat in the House and Senate.Fox News: Church Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison (February 9, 2009) He also referred to the planned shooting as a "hate crime."Fox News: Church Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison (February 9, 2009)