Posted on 07/28/2008 7:07:48 AM PDT by rface
Jim D. Adkisson is accused of opening fire with a 12-gauge shotgun during a children's play at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on Kingston Pike, killing two and injuring seven......Cameron Massey had a lengthy conversation with Adkisson a couple of years ago. Cameron, had just graduated from Johnson Bible College, and was eager to share the news.....But when she told Adkisson, he didn't react as she had expected. The news triggered an outburst that lingered in her memory.
"He almost turned angry," she said. "He seemed to get angry at that. He said that everything in the Bible contradicts itself...... Adkisson talked frequently about his parents, who "made him go to church all his life. He acted like he was forced to do that.".......
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CLICK HERE for VIDEO interview with neighbor.....
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Jim D. Adkisson sometimes volunteered to change his neighbors' tires. He let neighbors store their property in his garage.
He was the guy everyone could count on to help out when they needed a hand.
On Sunday, however, Adkisson was accused of opening fire with a 12-gauge shotgun during a children's play at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on Kingston Pike, killing two and injuring seven.
Now, those who knew him as "David" and considered him their friend want to know why.
Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder Sunday for the mass church shooting. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
"I feel sick to my stomach," said Karen Massey, a friend of Adkisson's who lives two houses up from his duplex at 1919 Levy Drive in Powell. "You could say I'm devastated by this."
Massey was among the half-dozen residents of Levy Drive who stood outside Sunday evening and watched as FBI agents and Knoxville Police Department officers began the lengthy process of gathering evidence from Adkisson's home.
"I'm saddened for the church, I'm saddened by what happened, but I'm also saddened for him, as well," Massey said. "He was my friend. If I needed him for anything, he would have done it for me."
Massey said that, after learning of Adkisson's alleged involvement in the church shooting, she recalled a lengthy conversation she had with him a couple of years ago.
Massey's daughter, Cameron, had just graduated from Johnson Bible College, and Massey was eager to share the news.
But when Massey told Adkisson, he didn't react as she had expected, and she ended up having to explain to him that she was a Christian, triggering an outburst that lingered in her memory.
"He almost turned angry," she said. "He seemed to get angry at that. He said that everything in the Bible contradicts itself if you read it.
"I was shocked that he had feelings like that, because I don't have the same beliefs. I believe in the King James Bible, I believe it literally. … He had his own sense of belief about religion; that's the impression I got of him."
According to Massey, Adkisson talked frequently about his parents, who "made him go to church all his life. … He acted like he was forced to do that."
Police have declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting. They also declined to say whether Adkisson has a criminal history.
FBI agents blocked off Levy Drive for several hours before KPD officers, including the bomb squad, arrived just before 8 p.m. to search his duplex and the garage beneath it. The yard was neatly mowed, and a water hose was coiled up in the driveway in front of the duplex.
Melissa Coker, who lives next door, also expressed shock that her neighbor would be accused of such a violent act.
She related how Adkisson recently helped change the tires on her car in her driveway and said he always had been friendly.
"He was a very nice guy. He said he used to be a truck driver, but in the past six months to a year, he wasn't driving any more," Coker said. "From my understanding, he was retired."
Adkisson had lived in the neighborhood for about four years, according to Massey.
He told neighbors at different times that he had worked in a factory and driven a truck, but it wasn't clear if he was employed anywhere.
They described him as an avid motorcyclist who liked to ride his bike up and down the road.
"He only socialized with a few people," Massey said. "He was very nice … he's kind of quiet."
J.J. Stambaugh may be reached at 865-342-XXXX.
sorry —— click link at header to access video
The press conference on TV now says he hates liberals, and was mad because he’s been unable to find a job.
Reports are that he hated this church because it was a “liberal” church.
Reports from who?
They’re giving this guy bail if he has the 1 million? Crazy...
Yeah buddy...they find an armed white guy that goes on a shooting in a liberal church and all kids of agendas can be stroked.
No way!
Maltheist gone wild.
They will spin it like that and is what evoked this and all should be wary of similar people or of raising their kids in a similar manner.
someone is not telling the truth<P.perhaps it’s too early to know who is lying - but I bet the woman at the video is a God loving “truther”
Are Universalist Unitarians even Christian?
“aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”
“Are Universalist Unitarians even Christian?”
My BIL’s parents most certainly are.
No.
No. It's not even a close call.
MSNBC said his food stamps had been cut off, he was a member of military and it is all Bush’s fault /s
So you’re saying that the FBI likes people who kill “real” God believers but not ones who kill “fake” Christians?
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