KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Unitarian Universalist leaders say they will not allow a fatal shooting at a Tennessee church to deter their proud progressive teachings, even as police say those beliefs appear to be what prompted the deadly rampage. On July 28, one day after the shooting at a church musical that left two parishioners dead, church members began the process of healing with a candlelight vigil.
A children’s choir ended the rain-soaked vigil by singing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow,” a popular song from the production of “Annie” that was interrupted by gunfire that Sunday morning.
According to Knoxville police, Jim D. Adkisson, 58, opened fire at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Police believe Adkisson, who is in police custody, acted alone.
In a four-page letter found in Adkisson’s car, the alleged shooter wrote that the attack was motivated in part by the church’s liberal beliefs. “Basically it indicated that he was upset because of his unemployment situation. It also indicated that he was not happy with the liberalism of that movement, and also felt that that was partly the reason he was still unemployed,” said Officer Darrell DeBusk, a police spokesperson. Adkisson’s ex-wife was a former member of the church, The Associated Press reported.
According to Janet Hayes, a spokesperson for the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations headquarters in Boston, the Knoxville church had been active in pushing for racial justice, and recently began holding an event for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens. The attack, the first of its kind on a Unitarian church, has prompted an investigation by the FBI and local police. Under federal statutes, the attacks could be prosecuted as a hate crime if a religious motive can be proved. The church has a membership of 460.
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