UPDATE:: Why is no one talking about the alleged Tennessee church shooter’s religion?
None of this means that Samson necessarily leaned on his Christian faith as justification for the mass shooting. There isn’t enough information about his motives to draw that conclusion.
However, the United States has seen a recent spate of domestic terror incidents specifically tied to fundamentalist Christianity, as well as the rise of white supremacist “Christian Identity” groups and individuals who, as ThinkProgress detailed in 2014, “spout scripture while engaging in horrifying acts of violence.”
The rise in violent acts committed by self-avowed Christians, ranging from plotting to bomb civil rights organizations in Oklahoma to plans to assassinate state officials in Washington to shooting sprees in Texas, has paralleled a broader spike in right-wing domestic terror incidents since the mid-2000s. As the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism recently found, some three-quarters of extremist-related murders from 2007-2016 were attributed to right-wing extremists – a rise, and a reality, to which the Trump administration has paid little heed.
Samson was not a white supremacist, and did not appear to be a member of any “Christian Identity” sect. But just like Roof’s church attack two years ago, Samson’s shooting further highlights the reality that what’s often called domestic terrorism is by no means confined to any specific ideology – nor, as we’ve seen, to any specific religion.
Seriously at a loss for words. School shootings I can sort of understand, but this,,, While I am aware of the harshness I hold religion to, walking into any building and shooting innocent people, there are no words to describe the disgust.
A Tennessee man was held without bond Sunday night on a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly opened fire while wearing a mask at a church outside Nashville, killing one person and injuring seven others, authorities said.Suspect Charged With Murder in Mass Shooting at Tennessee Church - NBC News
Emanuel Kidega Samson, 25, identified as the suspect by police, told authorities he arrived at the church armed with a handgun just before 11 a.m. and "fired upon the church building," according to a State of Tennessee affidavit.
Officials said in a statement that more charges were expected.
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