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Funerals announced for 3 killed at Alabama church dinner

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — Services for Walter Bartlett Rainey, Sarah Sharon Yeager and Jane Pounds will take place at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, where the three church members were fatally shot Thursday night.
Funerals announced for 3 killed at Alabama church dinner
A police officer walks outside St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Friday, June 17, 2022. Authorities say two people were shot to death and a third was wounded during an evening gathering when a man pulled out a handgun and began firing. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Associated Press

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — Funerals for three people killed by a gunman during a church potluck dinner in Alabama will be held this week, the church’s pastor said Monday.

Services for Walter Bartlett Rainey, Sarah Sharon Yeager and Jane Pounds will take place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, where the three church members were fatally shot Thursday night, the Rev. John Burruss wrote in a post on the church’s website.

The church was holding a monthly dinner described as a “Boomers Potluck” on Thursday when a visitor sitting by himself drew a handgun and began shooting. Rainey, Yeager and Pounds were all shot before another church member struck the gunman with a chair and disarmed him, according to a former St. Stephen’s pastor who spoke with witnesses. The attacker was then held until police arrived.


Prosecutors have charged Robert Findlay Smith, 70, with capital murder in the shootings.

Funerals for Rainey and Yeager are scheduled for Wednesday, the pastor said, followed by the funeral service for Pounds on Thursday.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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