An assailant opened fire at a church in Alabama on Thursday evening, killing two people and wounding one other, the authorities said. A suspect was in custody after the shooting, at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, a city of around 34,000 people about six miles south of Birmingham, said Captain Shane Ware of the Vestavia Hills Police Department.

The injured victim was being treated at a hospital, and the condition was not immediately known, Captain Ware said.

“A lone suspect entered a small group church meeting and began shooting,” Captain Ware said.

At the time of the shooting, a “Boomers Potluck Dinner” was being held in the church, according to a calendar on the church’s website. It was supposed to be a relaxing evening without an agenda, according to organisers. “There will be no program, simply eat and have time for fellowship,” an advertisement for the event said.