Gunman Opens Fire in Tennessee Church, 7 Injured
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A man wielding a shotgun entered a church and opened fire as congregants watched a youth performance today, killing one person and injuring eight others, the Knoxville police chief, Sterling Owen, said.
Police said the gunman was taken into custody. They didn’t immediately release his name. No children were injured. A hospital spokeswoman said five of the wounded were in critical condition.
Mr. Owen said the man killed was Greg McKendry, 60, a longtime church member and usher at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
“It appears Mr. McKendry was the first person he (the gunman) encountered when he walked into the sanctuary,” Mr. Owen said. “It’s going to be a while before all the facts are cleared up.”
A church member who arrived moments after the shooting said the gunman fired three times and was tackled. Officials wouldn’t say exactly how many people subdued the gunman.
“It was a large group and we are thankful for them for without it, this situation could have been even worse,” Mayor Bill Haslam said.
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 were taping the performance.
The church’s minister was on vacation in western North Carolina at the time of the shooting but returned this afternoon.
“We’ve been touched by a horrible act of violence. We are in a process of healing and we ask everyone for your prayers,” the Reverend Chris Buice said in a statement outside the church.
The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is a community that meets to worship and work together for social change, according to the church’s Web site. Since the 1950’s, the congregation has worked for desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women’s rights, and gay rights, according to the Web site. The congregation also has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless, and founded a chapter of the ACLU.
