Pastor Hailed After Gunman Opens Fire in Selma Church

A pastor and members of his congregation have been hailed as "heroes" for disarming an alleged gunman who police say attempted to kill his girlfriend and infant son inside an Alabama church, NBC News reported. 

Pastor Earl Carswell was shot and injured while subduing 26-year-old suspect James Junior Minter, who allegedly opened fire Sunday at the Oasis Tabernacle Church in Selma. Minter — whose girlfriend and 1-month-old son also were injured — fled the church but was later arrested.

"There were several heroes in there," Lt. Curtis Muhannad, of the Selma Police Department, told reporters. "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."

Minter's girlfriend, 24, was shot in the shoulder and jaw and the couple's 1-month-old son was shot in the hand, police said. Carswell, 61, was shot in the leg, police added.

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