Gunman opens fire in Tennessee church

Police are questioning a man suspected of shooting eight people, and killing one, in a violent attack at a Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday morning.

Jim Adkisson, 58, of Powell, Tennessee, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, Knoxville municipal spokesman Randy Kenner said Sunday evening.

One adult was killed and at least eight others wounded -- six of them seriously.

Greg McKendry, a 60-year-old usher and board member at the church, was fatally shot, Owen said.

The church shooting was reported at 10:18 a.m. Sunday, Deputy Police Chief Bill Roehl said. The suspect, whose identity was not immediately released, was taken into custody without a fight after police arrived.

The church was scheduled to stage a children's production of the musical "Annie" on Sunday morning, but all of the wounded appeared to be adults, Seymour said.

A woman who answered the phone at the church after the shooting would not comment, citing investigators' requests. But Roehl said many of those still at the church were "very calm" as detectives went over the sanctuary-turned-crime scene.

"To our knowledge right now, he is the lone suspect in this case," Roehl said.

The seven gunshot victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, just across the Tennessee River from the church, said Capt. Brent Seymour, a Knoxville Fire Department spokesman. About 12 others were treated for minor injuries at the church, he said.

© Mark Will - NewsGirl.Org