Three people were shot and killed at a church potluck dinner on Thursday night. A Vestabi Hills man has been charged with capital murder in their deaths.
For the murders of Walter “Bart” Rainey, 84; Sarah Yeager, 75; and Jane Pounds, 84; 70-year-old Robert Findlay Smith has been charged with their murders.
Since at least two people were killed in the shooting, the charge against Smith is a capital offense. According to AL.com, at 3:33 p.m., he was taken to the Jefferson County Jail.
Smith, the “lone suspect,” was apprehended after police were called to the church at 6:22 p.m. about a active shooter.
He was held overnight in the Vestavia Hills City Jail before being relocated to the Jefferson County Jail, where he will be held without bond.
According to public documents, Smith is an ATF-licensed firearms dealer who operates Original Magazines 2 at 4128 Sicard Hollow Road, which also serves as his home address.
Authorities have not revealed a motive for the shooting, and Smith’s court records show no prior violent crimes. In 2016, he received a DUI and attended driving school.
According to the Rev. Doug Carpenter, who established the church in 1973 and retired in 2005, Smith was sitting by himself when a longtime member of the church approached him and decided to invite him to sit down at the table.
He introduced himself only as “Mr. Smith” to victim Rainey and declined to join them.
Carpenter stated that he then pulled out a pistol and shot 3 people.
Carpenter said Jim Musgrove, a member of the church, struck the shooter with a chair and tussled the gun away from him.
“The suspect has previously attended services at this church but as far as the motive behind this, it’s still being looked into by many agencies,’’ Ware said. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to speculate.”
