VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. –
A lone suspect shot at a small group meeting in a suburban church near one of Alabama’s major cities Thursday night, killing two people and injuring a third before being arrested, authorities said. .
The attack took place at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, said Police Captain Shane Ware. He said officers rushed to the church after dispatchers received a call informing of an active shooter at the church at 6:22 p.m.
“From what we found out about the circumstances tonight, a lone suspect entered a meeting of a small church group and started firing. Three people were shot. Two people have been killed. One person is being treated for an unknown injury at a local hospital, “Ware told a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
He added that one suspect was in custody and that “there was no threat to the community at this time.”
In an earlier briefing, he had initially said one person had been killed and two injured in the shooting had been hospitalized.
Meanwhile, he declined to identify the suspect or victims or provide further details of the attack, saying his next briefing will be on Friday.
The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Office of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives sent officers to the scene. Investigators remained for hours after nightfall, with a yellow police tape that cordoned off the church complex and emergency vehicles and flashing lights blocked the route to the church. Nearby, people gathered and prayed.
The Rev. Kelley Hudlow, an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Alabama, told WBRC that the church and the community were shocked by the shooting.
“It simply came to our notice then. St. Stephen is a community built on love, prayer and grace and they will come together, “he said in a live interview with the station.” People of all religions come together to pray for healing. ” .
He added that the church was receiving messages of support from all over the United States and the world. “We need everyone. Pray, think, meditate and send love to this community because we will need everything,” he said.
The church’s website had listed a “Potluck Boomers” for Thursday night. “There will be no program, just eat and have time for coexistence,” the pamphlet said.
The al.com news channel reported that two injured people had been rushed to Birmingham UAB Hospital, before police reported that one of them had died.
It was the latest in a series of deadly shootings that have rocked the nation. Thousands of people gathered in the United States and National Mall in Washington, DC on Saturday to renew calls for stricter gun control measures following recent deadly shootings from Buffalo, New York, to Uvalde, Texas. Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of armed violence have also put pressure on lawmakers and testified on Capitol Hill this month.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement lamenting what she called the shocking and tragic loss of life in the church. Although she said she was happy to know that the suspect was in custody, she added: “This should never happen: in a church, in a shop, in the city or anywhere.”
Vestavia Hills is a residential community in southeast Birmingham, one of Alabama’s two most populous cities.