KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Fifteen years have passed since a gunman opened fire and killed two people at a Knoxville church. On July 27, 2008, Jim Adkisson fatally shot Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger and wounded many others at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
According to reports from the Unitarian Universalist Association, he said he killed people at the church because of its "liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed."
He brought the gun hidden inside a guitar case while church members were watching a children's production of Annie Jr. Adksisson pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder, and was sentenced to life in prison.
McKendry died shielding others from gunfire. Kraeger later died from her wounds.
Adkisson was an Army veteran who left a letter in his car expressing frustration with his unemployment. It also said he was motivated by hatred towards liberals, democrats, African Americans, and the LGBTQ+ community, according to the UUA. Adkisson said in the letter that he intended to keep shooting until he was killed by police, according to UUA.
Five years ago, the church hung a banner that read, "Thoughts and prayers are not enough." Around a month before the 15th-year mark, the church also hosted a press conference where community groups urged state lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws and reduce gun violence.
The African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee attended that conference. Among them was John Bohstedt, who tackled Adkisson after he started shooting in the church.
"An unemployed truck driver stepped into the back of the sanctuary with a shotgun and fired one shot and then another," Bohstedt said. "None of us defenders had a gun."
He stood just down the hall 15 years later to call on legislators to pass stricter gun laws.
"There's no magic formula, but our elected officials must take a first step," he said. "As a society and a state, we must make some kind of start toward making us safe in our schools and churches. We need red flag laws."