Pastor, Churchgoers Hailed as Heroes in Ala. Church Shooting

The pastor and congregants of an Alabama church are being hailed as heroes after a man opened fire at the place of worship on Sunday over a domestic dispute.

Alabama District Attorney Michael Jackson hailed the pastor and some churchgoers of Oasis Tabernacle Church in East Selma, Alabama for their quick thinking on Sunday when 26-year-old James Junior Minter opened fire on his girlfriend and infant son allegedly over a dispute regarding visitation rights.

"A whole lot more people could have been shot," District Attorney Michael Jackson said. "They all played a heroic role."

Minter reportedly entered the church during a service on Sunday morning and proceeded to pull a handgun from his pocket and begin firing at his 24-year-old estranged girlfriend and their infant son. The girlfriend was hit in the jaw and the shoulder, while the infant was hit in the hand.

Pastor Earl Carswell and other churchgoers reportedly rushed Minter and attempted to disarm him. The 61-year-old pastor was reportedly wounded in the leg after attempting to disarm the suspect.

"They all began tussling with him, including the pastor with (Minter)," Lt. Curtis Muhannad of the Selma Police Department told the Montgomery Alamba Adviser.

"Then he broke loose and ran out of the church, leaving his car behind. He was caught less than a mile away on J.L. Chestnut Boulevard," Muhannad added.

"There were several heroes in there," Muhannad added. "It takes a lot when you have someone with a firearm that's actually firing upon a person in a closed-quarters area, and you do whatever you can with regards to your own life to protect someone else's life."