Alabama: 70-year-old man kills three in shooting at church potluck dinner

A pensioner who shot and killed three people at a church potluck dinner in Alabama has been charged with capital murder.

Robert Findlay Smith had attended services at St Stephens Episcopal Church, but on Thursday night arrived at the church with a handgun, shooting dead two 84-year-olds and a 75-year-old.

The church's retired pastor, Reverend Doug Carpenter, said more could have been killed had it not been for a church member in his 70s who ran at the gunman and struck him with a folding chair before taking his gun away.

"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," Rev. Carpenter said.

Witnesses said Smith sat alone at the dinner and declined to join other members before opening fire.

The shooting is the latest in a series of shocking incidents around the US, including at a Texas school, a New York shop, and another church in California.

"Why would a guy who’s been around for a while suddenly decide he would go to a supper and kill somebody?" said the Rev. Doug Carpenter, St. Stephen's pastor for three decades.

"It doesn’t make sense," he added,

All three shooting victims were members attending a monthly dinner at the church. A Facebook post referred to the gathering as a "Boomers Potluck."

Rev. Carpenter said one victim's wife and other witnesses recounted what had happened.

They said a man who introduced himself only as "Mr Smith" sat at a table by himself - as he'd done while visiting a previous church dinner.

"People tried to speak to him and he was kind of distant and very much a loner," Rev. Carpenter told The Associated Press.

At Thursday's dinner, church member Walter Bartlett Rainey invited the visitor to join his table, Rev. Carpenter said, but the man declined.

Soon afterward, Rev. Carpenter said, the man drew his gun and opened fire - shooting Walter Rainey and two other church members - before he was tackled to the ground.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know... 

Church members held the suspect until police arrived. A police mugshot showed Smith with a blackened left eye and cuts to his nose and forehead.

"The person that subdued the suspect, in my opinion, was a hero," police captain Shane Ware told a news conference Friday, saying that act was "extremely critical in saving lives."

Police said Sarah Yeager, 75, of Pelham, died soon afterward at a hospital, and an 84-year-old woman died Friday. Police didn't release her name, citing the family's request for privacy.

Police are investigating what motivated the suspect, who occasionally attended services at the church.

Records from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives show Smith is a licensed gun dealer whose business is listed at his home address.