Church shooting survivor: Gunman 'disengaged,' sat alone

This booking photograph released by the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, Ala., shows Robert Findlay Smith, who was charged with capital murder on Friday, June 17, 2022, in a shooting that killed three people at an Alabama church. (Jefferson County Jail via AP)
Jefferson County Jail/AP

New details are being released about a gunman who police say killed three people at a potluck dinner at an Alabama church.

A witness to a shooting that killed three people at an Alabama church says the gunman had sat by himself, drinking liquor and rejecting offers to join the others gathered at the potluck dinner. The witness was sitting at the table with the three victims and said the gunman seemed disengaged. She says he shunned invitations to join the others that night.

The shooting took place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills. Seventy-year-old Robert Findlay Smith is charged with capital murder in the shooting that killed three people.

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Joshua LeBerte is a news intern for Alabama Public Radio.