Two shot to death in Tennessee church

A gunman opened fire at a church youth performance Sunday, killing two people, including a man witnesses said had shielded others.

Seven adults were injured but no children were harmed at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

Members said they dove under pews or ran from the building when the shooting started.

Congregants tackled the gunman.

Jim D. Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder and held on $1-million bail, according to city spokesman Randy Kenner.

One of the dead was identified as Greg McKendry, 60, a longtime church member and usher.

Church member Barbara Kemper said McKendry stood in front of the gunman and “took the blast to protect the rest of us.”

Also killed was Linda Kraeger, 61, who died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours after the shooting, Kenner said.

Five people remained hospitalized, all in critical or serious condition. Two others were treated and released.

The gunman’s motive is not known. The church, like many other Unitarian Universalist churches, promotes progressive social work, such as desegregation and fighting for the rights of women and gays.

Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire.

“He was saying hateful things,” she said, but refused to elaborate.