Bishop's Murder Appears the Result of Insanity

More on the murder of Mormon Bishop Clay Sannar:

The brother of a man accused of the fatal shooting of a Mormon church official in Central California says the man was a former member of the congregation who felt wronged by a leader in 1988.

Mike Ward told the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper Monday that his older brother, 47-year-old Kenneth James Ward of Modesto, also was mentally ill.

Police say Kenneth Ward walked into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Visalia on Sunday and killed Clay Sannar, a lay bishop. Kenneth Ward later died in a shootout with officers after telling police where they could find him.

Mike Ward told the Times-Delta that his brother didn't know Sannar. He says his brother had been a church member in the 1980s and was upset by a bishop then who had "shunned him to hell."

That's all the report says. Mormons don't practice "shunning to hell." Ward may have been excommunicated or disfellowshipped in 1988, both of which may be reversed through reinstatement.

Another report states:

Visalia police have confirmed that the man they say shot and killed a Mormon bishop Sunday had been arrested for making criminal and terrorists threats in Modesto.

The circumstances of the arrests are not being made public, however a Stanislaus County court worker said that a man named Kenneth Ward, who is the same age as the suspect, had been arrested in 2004 for making threats against a victim at a church.

The name of the church was not released.

The brother of the suspect, Mike Ward, said his brother did have a past incident and was committed to a psychiatric hospital, but would not go into details.

Mike Ward has been going door-to-door apologizing to families living on Burrel Street.

Police are also calling Lay Bishop Clay Sannar, who was gunned down Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, a hero because he urged people to leave the church offices after Ward walked in and made a scene, police said.