KNOXVILLE, Tennessee- A shotgun-wielding man opened fire at a Unitarian church during a children's play Sunday morning, killing two adults and wounding seven others before being overpowered by congregants, officials said. Jim Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder after Sunday's shooting at the Knoxville church. One of the victims, Linda Kraeger, 61, died at a hospital several hours after the shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, Knoxville municipal spokesman Randall Kenner said.

We had another church shooting today in a Tennessee church. The church members swarmed the shooter preventing him him continuing his shooting. The shooter hide a shotgun in a guitar case that he brought into the sanctuary. The shooter does not appear to be a member of the church. The dead have been identified as 61-year-old Linda Kraeger and 60-year-old Greg McKendry. Seven additional people were injured. The case is being investigated as a hate crime. The gunman was said to be shouting hateful words.The suspect, 58-year-old Jim Adkisson, is charged with first-degree murder. The alleged gunman's motive is not yet known.

Charl van Wyk, a South African, has been involved in not one, but two self defense incidents involving the use of a firearm. One day in 1993 a group of heavily armed terrorists entered his church and killed eleven of his fellow worshipers and wounded fifty nine. He had a simple .38, but was able to repel the attack, drive off the attackers, and save many lives. Recently, he was hijacked by an armed group, and his tactics were able to drive the attackers away, and he again saved his life. He wrote a book detailing a biblical right to self defense. The book is called Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self Defense where he details a biblical defense of self protection. Below is a detailed account of what the missionary and his friend faced, and how he used tactics and a weapon to turn the tide, create an opportunity for escape, and route the enemy.

In Part One we discussed the different risks that apply to the church offering. In this installment we will discuss how to pickup and count the offering. Most of the risk can be mitigated if you implement proper procedures that provide for accountability in the transport, handling and counting of the church offering. Pilfering is one of the most common means of stealing money from a church. Typically the dollar amount is fairly low but a much easier to be successful in the act of thievery. The ability to remove cash from the offering box, plates, safes or lock boxes is eliminated when an appropriate level of accountability is introduced into the procedures. Lets look at the typical means used to collect the offering.

On May 18, 2008 a man opened fire at a church related carnival, prompting heroic reactions from two men attending the event. Event attendees were startled to realize a man holding an assault rifle had fired shots at the mother of his children in an apparent domestic violence incident. After shooting three people, he attempted to re-load his weapon when he was taken down by "spontaneous heroes."