An Ohio judge has declared that a man charged with shooting his pastor brother last February is mentally competent to stand trial.
The declaration was made by a Montgomery County judge on 68-year-old Daniel Schooler, the suspect in the shooting and killing of Rev. William Schooler, 70, during Sunday service at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton on Feb. 28 this year, according to the Associated Press.
The suspect was immediately arrested at the church after the shooting.
Schooler appeared in court on March 15 where he pleaded not guilty, according to Dayton Daily News. He was earlier indicted by a grand jury for murder and his bond was set at $1 million.
He is facing one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and two counts of having weapons under disability.
He had a history of mental illness and violence based on court and police records.
The report said Schooler shot his brother four times using a stolen .380 calibre handgun.
An affidavit said the suspect confronted his brother at 12:22 p.m. on Feb. 28 "and with prior calculation and design, carried out previous threats to kill the victim."
"The defendant then laid the gun down and waited for police who took him into custody," said the affidavit.
The suspect had two prior convictions for felonious assault.
Pastor Schooler was a beloved figure in the community, people said.
During a memorial for him, church member Gale McLemore said, "It's very difficult and there's really no words to express what's in our hearts today."
"I think he meant a lot to the people in the city. The lives he touched. The children's lives he touched as an educator. The efforts he put into the community," she said.
The pastor graduated from high school in 1963 and became a decorated Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star.
From 1972 to 1978, he taught in the Dayton Public School District and became a principal from 1978 to 1977. He was a former member of the Dayton Board of Education.
