Man aged 71 held over Alabama church shooting that left three dead

Church shooting (Butch Dill/AP)

A 71-year-old man has shot dead three elderly people during an event at an Alabama church where he occasionally attended services, police said.

The suspect was subdued and held by an attendee at the “potluck dinner” until police arrived on Thursday, sparing the congregation from further violence at St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills, Police Captain Shane Ware said.