Deputies make arrests in shooting investigation of Dayton missionary at Alabama church

VESTAVIA HILLS, Alabama — Deputies in Alabama have made two arrests connected to the shooting of a Dayton-area native at a church near Birmingham, Alabama earlier this month.

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Michael Fauber, 18, a 2021 Beavercreek High School graduate, was shot multiple times while he was at the Alabama Birmingham Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Vestavia Hills.

A joint investigation led to detectives identifying a suspect in the shooting that resulted in his arrest Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office said in a media release.

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Courtney Lee Knight, 18, was identified as the suspected shooter and warrants for his arrest on a charge of attempted murder were filed. He was located and arrested Tuesday by the U.S. Marshal’s Service and he’s been booked in the Jefferson County Jail on a bond of $60,000, the spokesperson said.

A second man, identified as Cornelius Omar-James Knight, 22, was charged with hindering prosecution during the investigation and was also arrested. He was booked in the Jefferson County Jail on a bond of $15,000, the spokesperson said.

“Our detectives worked tirelessly to develop the information from what initially seemed to be a needle in a haystack,” the sheriff’s office spokesperson said in the statement.

“Through collaborative efforts with the US Marshal’s Service, the community and other law enforcement agencies, they were able to solve this unwarranted attack on a blameless person. Our agency is extremely proud of the efforts by all those involved in helping to bring this case to a close.”

Deputies said Fauber is expected to recover from his injuries. Previously family members said in a Dec. 10 statement they were seeing “progress and improvement every day” in his recovery but he was still expected to be hospitalized for several more days.

Additional details were not released. We’ll update this story as we learn more.

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