Elderly Church Member Dubbed ‘Hero’ After Halting Further Bloodshed

A story of heroism is emerging from the tragic Alabama church shooting that left three dead Thursday and shocked a community.

Vestavia Hills Police Capt. Shane Ware said Friday that the suspect, Robert Findlay Smith—who is accused of killing victims Walter Rainey, 84, Sarah Yeager, 75, and an unnamed 84-year-old woman—was subdued by a man inside Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.

“The person that subdued the suspect, in my opinion, is a hero,” Ware said.

The man, identified by AL.com as church member Jim Musgrove, took down Smith and is credited with saving others’ lives.

Witnesses told the Rev. Doug Carpenter what unfolded inside the church during a potluck dinner Thursday night. And Carpenter, who retired in 2005, recounted the information to USA Today.

Smith, described by police as “an occasional attendee of the church,” allegedly attended the event and sat alone, rebuffing attempts from fellow attendees to invite him to their table or get him dinner.

Then, he reportedly pulled out his handgun and opened fire—and that’s when Carpenter said the hero church member, who is in his 70s, jumped into action.

“He hit him with a folding chair, wrestling him to the ground, took the gun from him and hit him in the head with his own gun,” Carpenter told USA Today.

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Reprinted with permission from Faithwirecom. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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