On the evening of June 16, 2022, 84-year-old Walter Bartlett Bart Rainey was shot and killed during a Boomers Potluck at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Rainey had invited a man who was sitting alone at the event to join his table; that man declined and then produced a handgun and began shooting. Rainey died at the scene in the arms of his wife of 61 years, Linda.

Two other church members, Sarah Yeager, 75, and Jane Pounds, 84, were also shot and later died from their injuries. A fellow attendee intervened, striking the gunman with a chair and subduing him until law enforcement arrived. The suspect was identified as 70-year-old Robert Findlay Smith and was taken into custody and charged with capital murder; motive remained under investigation, and Smith was a licensed firearm dealer.

Rainey’s family remembered him as a man of deep faith who welcomed others, and noted that his final moments were spent in a place he loved. If anyone at St. Stephen’s or nearby remembers that night or has information that could help, please come forward.