VESTAVIA HILLS, Alabama (AP) — A lone suspect opened fire at a small group meeting Thursday evening at a suburban church near one of Alabama’s major cities, wounding two people and a third before being taken into custody. were injured, officials said.
Police Captain Shane Ware said the attack took place at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills. He said officers arrived at the church at 6:22 p.m. after a call to dispatchers informing them of an active shooter
“From what we’ve gathered from the circumstances of this evening, a lone suspect entered a small group meeting of the church and started shooting. Three people shot. Two people have died. A local One person is being treated at the hospital for an unidentified injury,” Ware said at a news briefing late Thursday.
He said one suspect was in custody and “there was no danger to the community at this time.”
In an earlier briefing, Ware initially said that one person was killed and two others were injured in the shooting, who were hospitalized.
Meanwhile, police declined to identify the suspect or victims or provide further details about the attack, with another briefing planned for Friday.
Residents walk home from a local store as police barricade the area after a shooting at St. Stevens Episcopal Church in Vestavia, Alabama, Thursday, June 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
The FBI, the US Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives sent agents to the scene. Investigators remained on until late into the night, yellow police tape was cordoned off the church premises and emergency police and fire vehicles blocked the way to the church. People gathered around and offered prayers.
Reverend Kelly Hudlow, an episcopal priest in the diocese of Alabama, told broadcast outlet WBRC that the church and the community at large were shocked by the shooting.
“It is shocking. St. Stephens is a community built on love and prayer and grace and they are going to come together,” she said in a live interview with the station. “People of all faiths come to pray for the hope of healing. coming together.”
He said the church is receiving messages of support from across America and around the world. “We need everyone out there. Pray, think, meditate and send love to this community because we’ll need it.”
The church’s website listed “Boomers Potluck” for Thursday night. “There will be no program, just eat and make time for fellowship,” the flyer read.
Church members gather for a prayer congregation after a shooting at St. Stevens Episcopal Church on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Vestavia, Alabama. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Thursday’s shooting was the latest in several high-profile shootings, including a racist attack last month that killed 10 black people in a Buffalo, New York state. supermarketAnd in Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two adults died of gunshots on May 24. Primary school in which the gunman was killed. In Southern CaliforniaOne person killed and five injured: One person on 15 May
Feather Saturday Thousands rallied on the National Mall of the US and Washington DC to resume calls for tougher gun control measures. Survivors of mass shootings and other incidents of gun violence also lobbied for legislators and testified on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement late Thursday mourning what she called the shocking and tragic loss of life at the church. Although she said she was happy to hear that the suspect was in custody, she wrote: “This should never have happened – in a church, in a shop, in town or anywhere.”
Vestavia Hills is a residential community southeast of Birmingham, one of Alabama’s two most populous cities.
