Tennessee Church Shooting Leaves Several Injured, One Dead

***UPDATE*** 3:45pm

CBS reports that at least one of the victims in the Tennessee church shooting has died:

Sources have told CBS affiliate WVLT that one of the victims has died.

The shooting occurred at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church at approximately 10:15 a.m., when children were putting on a musical. There were about 200 people in the church at the time.

Witnesses said the gunman, described as white with blond hair, appearing to be in his mid-40s and wearing a T-shirt and jeans, entered and fired two or three times.

Churchgoers tackled the gunman and restrained him until police arrived. The suspect is in custody.

***UPDATE*** 2:53pm

The AP has more details from the scene:

The gunman entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and fired three times with a shotgun, said church member Steve Drevick. He was called to the church immediately after the shooting to help out and later gave a statement to reporters.

Several people had head wounds, he said. Drevick had spoken to several eyewitnesses and said no one at the church recognized the gunman, who was tackled after he fired the shots, Drevick said. The gunman had more ammunition on him, Drevick said.

Story continues below

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There were about 200 people in the church at the time of the shooting watching a youth performance being put on by 25 children.

Police had cordoned off the church with yellow and red tape, and were taking statements and collecting video cameras from church members who'd been taping the performance. Police at the church would not immediately release any information and did not return phone calls from The Associated Press.

***UPDATE*** 12:49pm

From AFP:

A man armed with a shotgun opened fire in a church in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Sunday, wounding several people, at least two seriously, local television reported...

... It said six or seven people were wounded in the shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and at least two of the victims were in serious condition.

A group of children were singing for parishioners when the gunman opened fire, the local television station reported, but no children were among the injured.

WBIR said two members of the congregation tackled the gunman and held him until he was taken into custody by police.

CBS 13 reports that a gunman has opened fire in a Tennessee church in which children were performing a musical:

A man walked into a Knoxville, Tenn. church and open fired Sunday, injuring 7 people, CBS station WVLT-TV reported.

The incident took place at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church at 10:15 a.m. Church members said children from the congregation's summer theater workshop were performing a musical when the shooting occurred.

The alleged shooter is in custody.

Check back for updates...

Comments

[pattio66]

My heart goes out to the victims of this tragedy. As mentioned on another thread on this site, my family recently suffered the loss of one of our own in a classroom shooting. To those who will say "guns don't kill people, people kill people," I respond with "no, people WITH GUNS kill people." My niece would have stood a much better chance if her murderer had started waving a knife around her crowded lecture hall. Too bad her killer had a shotgun. The congregants of TVUUC are in my prayers...

[geobushono]

the current theory is the Church was targeted because the invited gay Pastors to speak there.

[SFRob]

who cares about theory? Many UU churches invite women and LGBT leaders to speak; but they don't get shot up. I thought that this was America...land of freedom and free speech?! I, for one, am sick and tired of these hate-preaching churches! Enough!

[jnratliff]

look out it could be alqeada that would make the republicans happy.

[BeSpoke]

ASK ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER about guns and they will tell you that someone can be standing 10 feet in front of another and fire a gun at them and have all the rounds miss. Now, suppose that the congregation is "packing"; how many of their stray shots would be killing other congregants? A: A LOT ! Just because someone is carrying a gun does NOT mean that whomever they point their gun at will end up being shot.

[RoseMerry]

God Bless Greg McKendry, the usher who stood up to this madman and used his body as a shield to protect his people. My prayers go out to his family and the family of Linda Kreager for their loss. I pray those injuried a good recovery.

I pray for strength for Rev. Chris Buice who has to leader this society to healing. Society is the traditional word for a UU congregation. It is time that I rejoin one, I miss it.

We are sadded that children had to witness this horror. We are glad none were touched by the gunshots. We pray all of these deep wounds heal.

Blessed Be.

[talidapali]

I am in Knoxville. Local paper reports a second person has died.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/sunday-of-sorrow/

[talidapali]

I am in Knoxville. The local news stations are reporting that a second victim has died.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/sunday-of-sorrow/

[LiberTLover]

Good work Supreme Court.

[TheIndependenceParty]

What we all await in every instant like this, is a reasonable, rational explanation. There is none, and can be none. Insanity is its own explanation, but means something only to the insane who are posessed in its thoughts and meanings. Those who were there at the church to see their children sing, ... were there for that reason alone. Their injuries and their deaths are shared by us all as parents who love and worry for our kids.

My prayers go to all the families of the church, the injured, and those who have been touched by this tragedy. The answer is forgiveness. Our teachers have told us so.

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

This stinks. What the heck was this man thinking? Recent update on MSNBC states that a second person has died as a result of this shooting.

[ErnestineBass]

What was BOOOsh thinking when he gave the order to invade Iraq?

Sane minds will never understand what goes through the mind of a killer.

We can speculate, but we'll never really know what motivates the madmen of this world.

[Lauren1959]

Two dead now-

[ErnestineBass]

I believe I went to high school with one of the witnesses, Barbara Kemper.

[Trueheart]

Sigh. This violates a deeply rooted personal belief that all houses of worship are sanctified space that should not be violated by disrespect--and murder certainly expresses the ultimate disrespect for Life. I just hang my head in shame to think that a fellow human being would do this. I guess it doesn't make a real difference if it happened in a MacDonald's or a schoolyard or inside a school or inside a church. It's all wrong. This just feels wronger than wrong.

[LeeAlex]

Trueheart, yes, it is wronger than wrong. Anywhere. The fact is that tonight two people are gone and their families and congregation are traumatized.

My church and the UU church fight for many of the same things, including full rights for all humans, regardless of race, gender, orientation, etc. That gets folks upset sometimes, to put it mildly. A couple of months back, in one of my classes, we went through how to look for danger signs and how to react in case something like this would happen during a service. That presupposes you can see what's going on as you are moving about the sanctuary or if an activity is going on that everyone's focused in on, like the children's play. I just don't think we ever expect this in a sanctuary.

Tonight I will light two candles, especially with the thought that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

PS -- HuffPo, the cross is not the proper symbol for UU churches. I believe it's a chalice and flame...?

[NoblesseOblige]

Amen. But, didn't Texas vote to specifically allow concealed weapons (guns) in churches?

Some in this country have an irrational love affair with "guns". They simply feel it's their God-given right to own these weapons. (Of course, there are responsible gun owners while others are not. Unfortunately, it's always the latter that we hear and read about involved in tragedies like this one.)

And, regrettably, the Supremes even recently made a Constitution-bending ruling on the second amendment--which I strongly disagree with.

But, to those who own these guns, please don't carry these weapons to church--or anywhere else where innocent folks may get hurt.

[ofbbg]

I agree with you - it's just a shame that parishoners weren't carrying concealed weapons - they could have shot this maniac dead and saved the taxpayers the cost of incarceration and a trial. What you NeoComs fail to realize is that you will never, never, never keep weapons out of the hands of people determined to have them and use them, whether for good or evil.

[johnmorgan]

I have an even better idea - let's give everyone his own personal atomic bomb! After all, the Constitution says I have the right to bear arms! It doesn't tell the type of arms, so atomic weapons are my right! THEN we'll be safe!

[adled]

Hey johnmorgan, let's blow snotballs at eachother (and let the others continue their conversation)

[MemoFromTurner]

You are probably under the misconception that all liberals want guns banned -- in which case, you are very much mistaken.

Contrary to your suggestion, however, I find the the idea that we should all be packing iron everywhere we go is totally absurd and more than a little insane. With the way American's collective temper flares these days, and is on a *very* short fuse, having guns on their person is the last thing we need.

Imagine disputes in parking lots, at work, in traffic, at a little league games, in theaters, and yes, in churches, all erupting in gunfire -- and all it would take is one hothead to start the ball rolling.

In this latest incident, a bad situation could have be made much worse if twenty armed citizens all pulled out their weapons and started blasting away in the general direction of the malefactor. Lead would be flying and ricocheting all over the place. Who knows how many more would have been killed or seriously wounded?

[ErnestineBass]

Hallelujah, brother!

Guns (and I call them that for good reason) have neither brains nor conscience.

That RESPONSIBILITY belongs SOLELY to the person wielding it.

You either own a gun, or it OWNS you.

Guns aren't the problem...America's utter lack of a cohesive social conscience is the problem.

[Mort]

You're right. We shouldn't all be packing. Which is why concealed carry permits are harder to qualify for. Fingerprints, local and FBI background checks, classes in law and handling, proficiency tests, etc. Permit holders tend to be law abiding citizens and have proven to be a deterrent to crime. So, yes, it may have made a difference if some of the parishoners had been carrying. And yes, we should not all be packing iron.

[boycottrightwingthings]

Memo, Thank you for being the voice of reason. I was thinking the exact same thing before I read your post. Many more would be dead if everyone carried a gun in an enclosed space and started using it. You would think that Church would be the safest place that you could be, but there are nuts everywhere, and churches seems to have a few more of them than most places. I would advocate metal detectors for all public places and churches, that is a much better answer than advocating that everyone carry guns. When you have to carry a gun to feel safe, we are no longer a free society. Guns carry their own burdens, and hotheads using them and accidents would be much more commonplace then they are now. It is just sad what a disturbed individual will do with a gun. This is a prime example of why we need to be more tight with background checks and rules for who should own guns in the first place.

[fictioneer]

I wondered how long it would take before this was trotted out. And you will never never never allow this sort of crime to be prevented by the disarming of the populace. Your pipe dream will never happen. That whole church could very well have been armed to the teeth under current laws, but it was not. Gun laws as they are now are murder.

[Bettysdad]

It's not the gun.

It's the religion.

Ever hear of shootings at an atheist organization?

The reason: Atheists aren't delusional, and all that carries with it.

[mcole]

its people like you that either do such heinous crimes or encourage others to

why cant people pracrise their religion in peace?

its not like such things only happens in churches

by your sick twisted reasoning, then anyone who opens fire in students in a school is doing so because hey, t hey are fighting back aginst organised education

and the same would go for those who shoot at people in the highways, in malls, in courtrooms

you need help.

[McMullen]

You clearly don't know the first thing about Unitarians, do you?

[SuburbanGirl]

I am a UU. HuffPo: a cross is not a UU symbol, a chalice is. Please educate your readers by updating with a correction.

[DumbDad]

and is there any more innocent, harmless, positive and generally good natured community in the world than the local UU crowd? For them to be attacked like this is like the little Amish girls. It just flattens your sense of cause and effect. They will be deeply in our (rather inanely evangelical catholic) prayers. May a spirit of peace somehow comfort them all.

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

In my experience Quakers, Lutherans & Mennonites are also generally peaceful, loving and tolerant folks. At least this Methodist thinks so. The same could be said about the majority of Catholics I know, and here in South Bend they're thick on the ground. : )

[Changeling]

Long live the Second Amendment.

[nanorich]

UU's don't bring guns to church.

[fictioneer]

The Second Amendment be hanged.