Authorities say a single gunman opened fire inside a suburban Alabama church on Thursday evening (local time), killing two people and wounded a third during a small group meeting before being apprehended.

According to Police Captain Shane Ware, the attack occurred at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills. He stated that dispatchers received a call at approximately 6:20 pm reporting an active shooter.

Ware stated that a suspect had been captured and that "there is currently no threat to the community." Police declined to name the culprit or the victims or disclose any information on the attack, stating that a Friday press conference was scheduled.

At an earlier press conference, Ware stated that one person was killed and two others were hospitalized.

Thursday evening will be a "Boomers Potluck," according to the church's website. The flyer stated, "There will be no program, only food and time for fellowship."

Thursday's attack occurred barely over a month after a man opened fire on Taiwanese parishioners at a church in Southern California, US, killing one and injuring five more.

A self-proclaimed white supremacist murdered nine people at Bible study at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, nearly seven years ago.

Investigators remained at the scene in Vestavia Hills hours after nightfall, with yellow police tape cordoning off the church complex and emergency police and fire trucks preventing access to the building.

Agents from the FBI, US Marshals Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were rushed to the scene.

People huddled and prayed nearby.

The Reverend Kelley Hudlow, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Alabama, told WBRC that the shooting had shocked the church and the surrounding community.

"It is astonishing. In a live interview with the station, she stated, "Saint Stephen's is a community founded on love, prayers, and grace, and they are going to unite." People of various religions are uniting in prayer in the hope of healing.

She reported that messages of support were arriving from around the United States and the world. "We need everyone on the field. Pray, reflect, meditate, and send love to our community, since we will need it all, "She stated,

There have been many high-profile shootings in May and June, beginning with a racist incident in Buffalo, New York, on May 14 that resulted in the deaths of ten Black persons. The following week, a gunman murdered 19 children and two adults in a Texas elementary school.

On Saturday, hundreds of people marched in the United States and on the National Mall in Washington, DC, supporting tighter gun control laws. Earlier this month, survivors of mass shootings and other incidences of gun violence lobbied lawmakers and spoke on Capitol Hill.

Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama released a statement late Thursday regretting the "shocking and tragic" loss of life at the church. Although she was relieved to learn that the perpetrator had been apprehended, she commented, "This should never occur — in a church, a supermarket, the city, or anywhere."

Vestavia Hills is a residential neighborhood located southeast of Birmingham, one of Alabama's two most populated cities.