Alabama man to be honored for heroism in Vestavia Hills church shooting

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (WBRC) - A local Alabama man, James W. Musgrove, Jr. is set to receive the Carnegie Medal, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.

The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

Musgrove, a 79-year-old Birmingham retired investigator, is credited with saving lives when he hit a gunman with a chair and restrained him until police arrived at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills in June 2022.

He’s one of only 15 people from across the U.S. to be honored this year.

Each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant. Throughout the 119 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, more than $44 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

The Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,355 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904.

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