Gunman kills 3 seniors over potluck dinner at Alabama church
VESTAVIA HILLS, ALA. >> The 70-year-old visitor had previously attended some services at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church before police say he showed up for a potluck dinner, pulled a handgun and fatally shot three of the elderly participants, one of whom died in his wife's arms as she whispered words of love in his ear.
Police said church members were spared further violence Thursday evening when someone at the dinner subdued the gunman and held him until police arrived. The suspect, Robert Findlay Smith, was charged with capital murder Friday, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said in a statement.
The baffling violence in a wealthy suburb outside Birmingham left victims' families in disbelief, stunned a community known for its family-centered lifestyle and deepened unease in a nation still reeling from recent slaughter wrought by gunmen who attacked a Texas school, a New York grocery store and another church in California.
Two of the Alabama shooting victims were 84; the third, 75. They had gathered with other church members for a “Boomers Potluck.” St. Stephen's was Walter Bartlett Rainey's favorite place, a church that “welcomes everyone with love,” according to his family. They said in a statement Friday that it was hard to believe he was killed attending a church dinner with his wife of six decades.
“We are all grateful that she was spared and that he died in her arms while she murmured words of comfort and love into his ears,” said the statement provided by 84-year-old Rainey's daughter, Melinda Rainey Thompson.
Police said Sarah Yeager, 75, of Pelham died soon after being taken to a hospital Thursday. The third victim, an 84-yearold woman, died Friday. Police did not immediately release her name, citing a request by her family for privacy.
More people likely would have been killed or injured had the shooter not been stopped, Vestavia Hills police Capt. Shane Ware said.
“It was extremely critical in saving lives,” Ware told a news conference Friday. “The person that subdued the suspect, in my opinion, was a hero.”
Ware said Smith and the three victims were all white. He said police are still investigating what motivated the suspect, who occasionally attended services at the church.
Authorities executed a search warrant Friday at Smith's home, located less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the church. A mugshot distributed by police shows Smith with a blackened left eye and cuts to his nose and forehead.