Dayton pastor shot and killed at church

Key Points:

• Shooting happened inside the church
• Victim identified as William Schooler, 70, of Dayton
• Suspect is his brother, Daniel Schooler, 68, of Dayton
• Daniel Schooler arrested at the church, faces murder charge
• Suspect has history of mental illness and violence, according to court, police records

The Rev. William Schooler, 70, was gunned down just before 12:30 p.m. in his office in back of his church while the choir was singing at the end of Sunday services.

The congregation heard the shots that claimed their beloved pastor, community leader and former Dayton Board of Education member in their Nancy Avenue church.

“I just got everybody out of the church and we just kept hearing shooting and shooting,” said Alberta Blayth of Dayton. The church member said she saw the accused shooter, the pastor’s 68-year-old brother Daniel Schooler, head for the office while the pastor’s wife and the pastor were inside.

A church member called 911 when the shooting began: “Our pastor just got shot by his brother! … He’s still shooting him!” Dispatch: “Where is the shooter at?” Caller: “In the church. In the back, with his brother and his wife.”

Before the shooting, the service was turned over to Curtis Booker, the choir director, who said he saw Daniel Schooler get up and follow his brother to the back.

“Then I heard the first pop and I thought he fell because there’s a little step right there. Then I heard a second pop. And I was like, that sounds like gunshots,” Booker said.

“We heard pow, pow,” church member Beulah Booker-Robertson said, recounting the shooting. “The usher at the door said ‘everybody get down, everybody get out.’ ”

Dayton police said Schooler was shot multiple times, but that the congregation and community at large were not targeted and there were no other intended victims.

“I want to make sure the public understands this is not a random act of violence,” Sgt. Creigee Coleman said. “This was somewhat of a domestic situation between family members.”

Daniel Schooler was taken into custody at the church. He was led in handcuffs to a waiting police cruiser and is now behind bars at the Montgomery County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon, online jail records show.

The shooting remains under investigation, and police and prosecutors plan to meet to discuss formal charges.

A Schooler family member said Daniel Schooler struggled with mental illness. “Bipolar, schizophrenic. He had a lot of things going on he was dealing with,” said Joyce Napier, niece of the pastor and suspect. “I don’t think he woke up this morning and said ‘I want to kill my brother.’ I just think the mental state and illness goes together and that’s what evil does.”

The Schooler family is in pain, Napier said, but will grieve together.

“We stick together. And we pray. And don’t turn on each other … because he has daughters, the other one has daughters. And we loved them both, so we have to stick together. That’s all we know, that’s all we have,” she said.