Suspected gunman alleges Two people killed and a third injured inside a church near Birmingham, Alabama Friday was described by police as an “occasional attendee of the church”.
The 74-year-old suspect, who has not been identified, was attending a “boomer’s potluck” gathering at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills when he “produced a handgun” and “started shooting,” Vestavia Said Hills Police Capt. Shane Ware.
“The suspect has attended services at this church before,” Ware said.
Ware said another person involved in the event overpowered the suspect and held him under control until police arrived. “The man who subdued the suspect in my opinion is a hero,” he said.
According to officials, 84-year-old Walter Rainey was pronounced dead at the scene. Sarah Yeager, 75, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. At the same time, an 84-year-old woman was undergoing treatment in a hospital on Friday as well.
Police said the suspect has been taken into custody and murder charges are pending against him. The reason for the shooting is being investigated.
Ware said the suspect acted alone, and posed no threat to the community.
The police department responded to an active shooter call at 6:22 pm. Different Police said law enforcement agencies and fire brigade are at the scene.
Church pastor Rev. John Burruss, who is on a church pilgrimage in Athens, Greece, said in a video that he was working on his way back to Alabama on Thursday. He was sometimes seen praying with tears in his eyes.
Thursday’s shooting comes more than a month after one person was killed and five were injured after a man opened fire on a Taiwanese parishioner. Church in Southern California. It comes nearly seven years after a white supremacist killed nine people during a Bible study at Emanuel Ame Church Charleston, South Carolina.
there have been many high-profile shooting In May and June, it began with a racist attack on May 14 that killed 10 black people in a supermarket. Buffalo, New York. The next week, a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school Uvalde, Texas.
on Saturday thousands of people rally In the US and on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to renew calls for stricter gun control measures. Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence lobbied for legislators and testified on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Vestavia Hills is a town of approximately 39,000 south-east of Birmingham.