Americas

Americas

Fatal incident occurs in U.S church

28 July 2008 09:49 (UTC +04:00)

Knoxville-APA. A 60-year-old church usher has been hailed a hero after shielding other members of his congregation from a gunman who opened fire during a Sunday morning gathering in Tennessee.
The attack began as the 200-strong congregation was watching a youth performance of the musical Annie at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville on Sunday.
Church members dove under pews or ran from the building when the shooting started, but Greg McKendry stood in the front of the gunman and "took the blast to protect the rest of usâ€, one churchgoer said.
Mr McKendry perished at the scene, while Linda Kraeger, 61, died a few hours later at the University of Tennessee Medical Centre. Five people remained hospitalized, all in critical or serious condition, while two others were treated and released.
Church members said the gunman, Jim D. Adkisson, was tackled by John Bohstedt, who was playing Daddy Warbucks in the performance of Annie.
Mr Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder and held on $1 million bail.