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VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. – Two people were killed and one was injured when a 71-year-old gunman opened fire on an Alabama church on Thursday, authorities said.
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Update at 10:50 am EDT June 17: Vestavia Hills, Alabama officials said during a news conference Friday morning that the shooter was a 71-year-old man acting alone. He is an occasional assistant at Episcopal Church of Sant Esteve. Officials did not identify the shooter.
Walter Rainey, 84, of Irondale, and Sarah Yeager, 75, of Pelham, were killed in the shooting, Captain Shane Ware, a spokesman for the Vestavia Hills police department, told reporters. Jane Pounds, 84, of Hoover, is still being treated at UAB Hospital.
A man named “Mr. Smith” was sitting alone at a Boomers Potluck dinner held at the church, the news organization reported. A longtime church member approached him and invited him to sit at a table, Rev. Doug Carpenter, who founded the church in 1973 and retired in 2005, told AL.com. .
The man refused to sit with them and later pulled out a gun and started firing, Carpenter told the news organization.
Jim Musgrove, a church member, hit the shooter with a chair and fought the gun away from him, Carpenter said.
“Vestavia Hills is a very close-knit community … and loving, and I want to say, first of all, that our prayers go out to the victims and families affected by this senseless act of violence,” said Vestavia Mayor Hills, Ashley Curry. during the press conference.
“Mr. Smith “refused to join them and later pulled out a gun and shot three people, Carpenter said.
Jim Musgrove, a church member, hit the shooter with a chair and fought the gun away from him, Carpenter said. https://t.co/spatLQBinl.
– AL.com (@aldotcom) June 17, 2022
Updated at 11:09 PM EDT on June 16: A “lone suspect” entered a small gathering there and began firing, Vestavia Hills police captain Shane Ware told a news conference Thursday afternoon. One person was pronounced dead at the scene. Two people were taken to Birmingham UAB Hospital, where one of the victims later died, AL.com reported. The surviving victim is being treated at the UAB Hospital, according to the press.
Updated at 9:20 PM EDT on June 16: Captain Shane Ware, a spokesman for the Vestavia Hills police department, confirmed that three people had been shot. He said one person died and two people were taken to a local hospital.
“You never want something like this to happen in your community,” Kelley Hudlow, who works in the bishop’s office, told AL.com. “It’s shocking that it happened here, but we will love and care for each other and find the way forward.”
Original report: According to police, the shooting took place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, WBRC-TV reported.
Several people were shot, Captain Shane Ware, a spokesman for the Vestavia Hills police department, told reporters during a brief press conference. It did not provide a specific number of victims. Ware said the alleged gunman was under arrest.
The church hosted a CDT event Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., WBMA-TV reported. According to WBRC, the event was a Potluck Boomers dinner.
It is unclear if this incident was related to the shooting.
Dispatchers received a 911 call around 6:22 p.m. CDT, WBRC reported.
Police said another briefing will be held at 8 p.m. CDT, AL.com reported.
Vestavia Hills is located south of Birmingham.
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