The 70-year-old suspected gunman in a church shooting that killed three people in Alabama sat by himself drinking liquor, rejecting offers to join the others gathered at the potluck dinner, before gunfire shattered the peace of the evening, a survivor recalled.

Alabama said it will allow a death row inmate's pastor to hold his hand during a lethal injection next month.

Standing before a crowd of hundreds, Candice Gulley, the only person to survive in the van, cried as she said each of the young victims was a “blessing to my life.”