VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — A 71-year-old man fatally shot two elderly people and wounded a third with a handgun during a potluck dinner at an Alabama church where he occasionally attended services, police said Friday.
The suspect was subdued and held by an attendee of the event until police arrived Thursday evening, sparing the congregation from further violence at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, police Capt. Shane Ware said.
“It was extremely critical in saving lives,” Ware told a news conference. “The person that subdued the suspect, in my opinion, was a hero.”
Ware did not give a motive for the shootings. He also didn’t identify the suspect, whom police took into custody at the church. He said the man’s name was being withheld until prosecutors formally charge the man with capital murder.
Walter Rainey, 84, of nearby Irondale was killed at the church and Sarah Yeager, 75, of Pelham died after being taken to a hospital. The third victim, an 84-year-old woman, remained hospitalized, Ware said.
He said the suspect and the three victims were all white.
The event was a “Boomers Potluck” gathering inside the church, according to messages posted on the church’s Facebook page by pastor the Rev. John Burruss. He said he was in Greece on a pilgrimage with a group of members and trying to get back to Alabama.
Police are still trying to determine the shooter’s motive, Ware said. He said the suspect had previously attended services at the church.
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