Al.com LinkA man calling himself “Mr. Smith” was sitting alone and longtime church member Bart Rainey approached him and invited him to sit at a table, said the Rev. Doug Carpenter, who founded the church in 1973 and retired in 2005.
“Mr. Smith” refused to join them and later pulled out a handgun and shot Rainey, who was 84s, Carpenter said.
He also shot Sarah Yeager and an 84-year-old Hoover woman. Yeager was killed; the Hoover woman is being treated at UAB Hospital.
Jim Musgrove, a church member, hit the shooter with a chair and wrestled the gun away from him, Carpenter said.
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No one at the dinner knew “Mr. Smith,” who claimed he was a former member. “We’re trying to figure out who he is,” Carpenter said.
My buddy's dad. I know we talk about it a lot. "Oh, I'd do this," or, "I'd do that," when we talk about these situations, but Mr. Musgrove did it. An unarmed man put himself between a shooter and his fellow church members and neutralized the threat armed only with determination and a chair. Amazing. God bless him for being there and having the courage.
