'It Was Awful,' Longtime Pastor Shot Dead in Church by Younger Brother as Choir Sang
A community of congregants and family members are now struggling with shock and grief after William Schooler, 70, a longtime pastor and community advocate in Dayton, Ohio, was fatally gunned down in his office, allegedly by his younger brother in church on Sunday.
"It was awful, just awful," recalled Loretta Smith, a member of the St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church where the killing occurred, according to local news station WDTN.
Witnesses said the shooting happened while the choir sang at the end of the service. Police received a 911 call that a man had fired shots at about 12:30 p.m.
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"That's when we started running," an unidentified church member told WDTN.
Police believe Schooler's younger brother, Daniel Gregory Schooler, 68, is the likely shooter. Montgomery County Court records show that Daniel Schooler was convicted of felonious assault with a deadly weapon in 2001. A year later in 2002, he was convicted again of felonious assault with a deadly weapon after he was accused of kidnapping a child.
He was arrested and charged with murder by police on Sunday and is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.
"This was somewhat of a domestic situation between family members and the public is safe," Sgt. Creigee Coleman of the Dayton Police Department told WDTN.
In the meantime family members of the brothers said they were shocked by the murder.
"It's a tragedy," said Tina Schooler, a niece to the brothers. "I love my uncles and it saddens me."
"He was a great father, great provider, great protector," said Patricia Mapir-Wright, another niece.
Church members like Vonette McGraw struggled with her new reality. "I can't believe it," she said. "I can't believe that my pastor is gone."
In a statement released Sunday the Community Progress Institute said Schooler was a key leader in the Dayton community for decades and he focused on issues that were broad in scope such as education, poverty and gun violence.
"We are saddened to be here today at the site of yet another terrible act of violence. … Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the pastor, Dr. Schooler, and with the congregants of this close-knit neighborhood church," said the statement. "He baptized people, he married people, he taught people, he comforted people in times of need. Now we must comfort when one our community comforters is gone."
According to the Dayton Daily News, Schooler, a 1963 graduate of Dunbar High School and a decorated Vietnam veteran who received the Bronze Star, was also a former Dayton Board of Education member.
Schooler, who graduated from Central State University in 1972, the Ohio State University in 1976 and Grace College in Columbia, S.C., in 2003, retired from the Dayton Public School district as a principal in 1997.
He was also a member of the Montgomery County Family and Children First Committee and was a certified city of Dayton mediator, chairman emeritus within the Priority Board system and former executive board member of CityWide Development Corp.
"He had deep roots in the community," said friend and fellow community leader Ronnie Moreland who said Schooler was the current president of the Baptist Ministers Union in Dayton.
"He was a beloved leader. It's hard to put into words what has happened," Moreland said.
Dayton City Commissioner Joey Williams told the News he was with William Schooler on Saturday night at the Dunbar-Trotwood high school basketball game.
He recalled Schooler as outspoken and thoughtful and gave valuable advice. Williams also called Schooler's death shocking and tragic.
"For him to be a victim of violence is just extremely saddening," he said.
"I think he always gave heartfelt advice about the community, and like myself, he was an avid basketball fan," Williams said.
The Community Progress Institute used Schooler's death to call for better gun regulations and enforcement.
"It has become obvious that the current regulations and enforcement of the regulations pertaining to gun violence are not sufficient and we need to come up with a better way," said the statement. "That this incident took place inside a church underscores how serious the problem is."
The Institute plans to hold a prayer vigil and gun violence solutions summit at 6 p.m. March 8 at their offices located at the Kettering Tower in Dayton.
