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Google PlayA shooting at an Alabama church has left at least two people dead and others injured.
The Vestavia Hill Police Department said the incident took place at around 6 p.m. local time at the Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills located outside of Birmingham. Police Cpt. Shane Ware told reporters a total of three people were wounded during the shooting.
Two people have died while another person is receiving medical treatment at a nearby hospital, according to ABC News.
During a Thursday night press conference, Ware said he didn’t have any identifying information about the victims or the shooter. He did, however, confirm that the suspect was taken into custody and “there is no additional threat to the community.”
According to the church’s website, a “Boomers Potluck” was scheduled to take place from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the place of worship. It’s unclear how many people were inside the church at the time of the shooting.
Ware went on to thank the multiple law enforcement agencies—including the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Marshals Service—for assisting police in the response. He did not reveal the circumstances surrounding the shooting or how the suspect was ultimately apprehended.
Stay tuned as more details become available.
The incident follows a series of high-profile mass shootings across the country, including one at a Buffalo supermarket that left 10 people dead; and another at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, where 19 children and two adults were fatally shot. Since then, calls for tighter gun control measures have significantly increased. Just last week, thousand of protestors hit the streets for the nationwide March for Our Lives rally, an anti-gun violence demonstration created by Parkland survivors.
