A pastor was shot dead, allegedly by his younger brother, Sunday at his
church in Ohio, Dayton police told WDTN-TV.
William Schooler, 70, pastor at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton, was shot while the church's choir was singing at the end of the service, authorities told the television station. The Montgomery County Coroner's Office said Schooler was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dayton police arrested Daniel Gregory Schooler, 68, and booked him into the Montgomery County Jail and is facing murder charges, according to WDTN-TV. He is expected to make his initial appearance in court Monday.
"This was somewhat of a domestic situation between family members and the public is safe," Dayton Police Sgt. Creigee Coleman, the station noted.
Witness Alberta Blayth said she saw Daniel Schooler walk toward the church's office while the pastor and
his wife were inside, according to WHIO-TV.
"I just got everybody out of the church and we just kept hearing shooting and shooting," Blayth said.
Police told WHIO-TV that the pastor was shot multiple times, but no one else in the congregation was hurt and Daniel Schooler was arrested at the scene.
The elder Schooler was a former Dayton Board of Education member and a Vietnam veteran who received the
Bronze Star, according to the Dayton Daily News. He taught in Dayton Public Schools from 1972 to 1978 and became a principal in nearby the Jefferson Township district from 1978 until he retired in 1997.
The Daily News said that Daniel Schooler, though, had a troubled history of violence and court documents indicated he may have a mental illness. The newspaper pointed to a 2007 incident in which a friend accused Schooler of attacking him on a golf course without provocation.
In 2008, the younger Schooler reportedly attacked two people with a six-inch knife and a hammer, the Daily News reported. Schooler told police that he believed the men were teasing him and he became upset.
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