Man accused of killing father scheduled for trial

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A North Carolina man accused of killing his father and then opening fire at his former high school is scheduled to go to trial.

Alvaro Castillo has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to all of the charges against him. A judge has ruled that the 22-year-old is competent to stand trial for the August 2006 shootings.

Prosecutors say Castillo fatally shot his 65-year-old father before driving to Orange County High School, where he set off firecrackers or smoke bombs in a parking lot and fired at the
school with a rifle and a shotgun.

Investigators have said Castillo was obsessed with the 1999 Columbine, Colo., high school massacre and sent an e-mail to the Columbine principal before the North Carolina attack.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)