Authorities identify 2 of 3 victims in Alabama church shooting

June 17 (UPI) -- Authorities identified the two people killed in a church group meeting Thursday night as an 84-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman attending a potluck dinner at St. Stephen Episcopal Church in suburban Birmingham.Ala.

Walter Rainy, 84, and Sarah Yeager, 75, died in the latest mass shooting at a house of worship, which came on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.

The third shooting victim, who survived, has only been identified by authorities as an 84-year-old female. She remained hospitalized Friday, according to the Vestavia Hills Police.

Capt. Shane Ware said the shooter, a 71-year-old man, occasionally attended the church in Vestavia. He said the man, who was not named, pulled out a gun during the potluck and started shooting.

The suspect was eventually subdued and taken custody after police were called to an active shooter at the church.

"Any past interactions involving this suspect are currently being investigated by numerous agencies,"' Ware said, according to AL.com. "It would premature for me at this time to go into that topic."

According to The Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit group that tallies gun violence in the country, there have been 231 mass shootings so far this year.

The shooting follows a spate of high-profile mass shootings across the United States that have left scores dead, including 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school late last month.