Photo: Butch Dill/AP/Shutterstock
A third victim has died after a gunman entered a church near Birmingham, Alabama, and opened fire during a potluck dinner.
On Friday afternoon, the Vestavia Hills Police Department said in a press release viaFacebookthat an 84-year-old female succumbed to her injuries at UAB Hospital a day after the shooting. Her family asked that her identity not be released.
Police identified the two othervictimson Friday, Walter Bartlett “Bart” Rainey, 84, who died at the scene, and Sarah Yeager, 57, who died at UAB.
Bart’s family issued a statement on the loss, per local stationWFSA, “The family of Walter Bartlett Rainey (Bartlett) wishes to thank every person who has reached out to offer prayers and a thousand different kindnesses to ease the loss we all feel acutely today while still finding it so hard to believe.”
“We also feel a sense of peace that his last hours were spent in one of his favorite places on earth, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, a place that welcomes everyone with love. We are proud that in his last act on earth, he extended the hand of community and fellowship to a stranger, regardless of the outcome.”
Butch Dill/AP/Shutterstock
The couple was with a group of people Thursday evening at what the church had dubbed the Boomers Potluck get-together.
A church member, Jim Musgrove, managed to strike the shooter with a chair and get the gun away from him, police said.
“It was extremely critical in saving lives,'' Vestavia Hills police Capt. Shane Ware said, per the outlet. “In my opinion, he’s a hero.”
No one had met “Mr. Smith” before, Carpenter said, adding, “We’re trying to figure out who he is.” Police said they do know the suspect and where he lives, AL.com reports.
According to local NBC affiliateWVTM-13, officers have also said the suspect acted alone and there is no current threat to the community.
A suspect, Robert Findlay Smith, was arrested and is charged with capital murder for two or more persons in relation to the fatal shooting, District Attorney Danny Carr said in apress releaseFriday.
Per hisarrest record, Smith, 70, was booked at 3:33 p.m. local time on Friday. It was not immediately clear if Smith had obtained legal representation.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
In addition to his family’s tribute, Bart’sneighborsalso spoke about the caring man in their community.
“I’m a little better now, the initial shock has worn off. It’s such a tragic situation,” Brian Cocke, who lived next door to the Raineys for four years, told WVTM-13 of how he’s coping.
“He was a very nice man and I’m so sorry that he’s gone,” Bart’s neighbor Jannie Barns added.
Cocke went on to say that the shooting tragedy has “hit close to home”, adding, “It’s just really hard.”
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Of his relationship with Bart, Cocke added, “He’s an older gentleman so he’d ask me to help with things a lot like changing the air filter in the ceiling.”
Sharing one of his final and fondest memories with Bart, Cocke said that one of his trees knocked over the Raineys' a few weeks ago. “He said, ‘Man, it’s a tree. It’ll grow back. You’re not hurt, I’m not hurt. It’s fine,’ " Cocke recalled of Bart’s reaction. “That story just sticks out in my head ‘cause that is the epitome of him. Just, very understanding and very nice.”
Continued Cocke: “Bart was just the nicest person, always had a kind word to say. He would go out of his way to help anybody who needed it.”
The Vestavia Hills Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
According toGun Violence Archive, there have been 268 mass shootings in the United States in 2022.
source: people.com
