A clearer picture of Adkisson is emerging from the sad community of Knoxville, where he walked into a Unitarian church firing a semi-automatic shotgun, killing two and critically injuring 2 more. Four more remain hospitalized.

He has a history of domestic violence and his ex-wife belonged to the church years ago. He had two DWIs, and a book shelf full of hate literature. He couldn't find a job and was about to lose his food stamps. Clearly this man was building to an explosion over many years. The concept of being charged with a hate crime is looking more plausible.

The Associated Press

Adkisson's ex-wife once belonged to the church but hadn't attended in years, said Ted Jones, the congregation's president. Police spokesman Darrell DeBusk declined to comment on whether investigators think the ex-wife's link was a factor in the attack.

Adkisson, 58, who had been on the verge of losing his food stamps, remained jailed Monday on $1 million bond after being charged with one count of murder. More charges are expected. Four victims remained hospitalized, including two in critical condition.

The attack Sunday morning lasted only minutes. But the anger behind it may have been building for months, if not years. "It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred for the liberal movement," Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen said of Adkisson.

A police affidavit used to get a search warrant for Adkisson's home said the suspect admitted to the shooting. Adkisson "stated that he had targeted the church because of its liberal teachings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country," investigator Steve Still wrote.

Adkisson was a loner who hates "blacks, gays and anyone different from him," longtime acquaintance Carol Smallwood of Alice, Texas, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Authorities said Adkisson's criminal record consisted of only two drunken driving citations. But court records reviewed by The Associated Press show that his former wife obtained an order of protection in March 2000 while the two were still married and living in the Knoxville suburb of Powell.

The couple had been married for nearly 10 years when Liza Alexander wrote in requesting the order that Adkisson threatened "to blow my brains out and then blow his own brains out." She told a judge she feared for her life.