Man, 71, held in Alabama church shooting that killed 2

CORRECTS NAME OF CHURCH Church members console each other after a shooting at the Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Vestavia, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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.”