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Fallon church shooting suspect ruled incompetent by judge

This undated photo provided by the Churchill County Sheriff's office shows John O'Conner. Police in the northern Nevada city of Fallon are trying to determine why O'Conner walked into his Mormon church on Sunday, July 22, 2018, and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another. (Churchill County Sheriff's Office via AP)
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The Associated Press
September 6, 2018 - 11:09 am
 

FALLON, Nev. — A judge says a 48-year-old northern Nevada man isn’t currently competent to stand trial in the fatal shooting of a fellow congregation member inside a Mormon church.

John O’Connor has been charged with first-degree murder in the July 22 killing of 61-year-old Charles “Bert” Miller, a longtime volunteer firefighter in rural Fallon.

He’s also accused of battery with a deadly weapon in the shooting of Miller’s 64-year-old brother, Duane of Utah.

A psychiatrist and a psychologist both testified at a competency hearing Tuesday O’Connor doesn’t have the ability to assist in his defense with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, as required under Nevada law.

Judge Thomas Stockard agreed and ordered him to remain at a mental hospital in Reno where he recently started taking anti-psychotic medication.

Another competency hearing is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

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