PARKERSBURG - He guided Aplington-Parkersburg High School to two state football titles and molded four players for the National Football League. But football won't be what Ed Thomas is most remembered for by those who knew him best.

The 58-year-old coach died Wednesday morning after being shot multiple times with a handgun by a former student and player, according to law enforcement officials. Authorities would not confirm but sources said Thomas was shot in the head.

Mark Becker, 24, is charged with first-degree murder. He appeared before a judge Wednesday afternoon inside the Butler County Jail. His bond is set at $1 million, cash only. Authorities later moved Becker to the Cerro Gordo County Jail in Mason City.

To people outside the school district, Thomas was a talented football coach. In the two communities, his legacy goes far beyond the gridiron.

Friends, former students and colleagues hold Thomas up as a compassionate man who cared about people more than victories. His concern included his alleged assailant.

Judy Pruisner attended First Congregational Church in Parkersburg with Thomas and Becker's parents, Dave and Joan. During a recent adult Sunday school session, which Thomas led, Pruisner said the Beckers asked the group to pray for their troubled son.

Thomas did.

"He was just a wonderful man," Pruisner said. "He's the hero of our town."

Apparently Thomas' compassion for others was contagious.

Though Aaron Thomas is mourning the loss of his father, he was also thinking of the Becker family when he spoke Wednesday during press conference at Parkersburg Elementary.

"They, too, are suffering and grieving, and we want the community to embrace them," Aaron Thomas said.

Aaron Thomas followed his father into coaching. He is head basketball coach at Union High School in La Porte City.

"We'll have many great memories to share and think back on as we were lucky to have the father we had for the 58 years he lived and for me, the 30 years he was my father," Aaron Thomas said. "I feel very fortunate to be the son of Ed Thomas."

He said God "always has a reason."

"At this time it's always tough to understand that," Aaron Thomas said.

At about 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, authorities say, Becker, 6 feet and 200 pounds, walked into the high school weight room - a former bus barn adjacent to the Falcons' football field - and shot Thomas multiple times.

An ambulance rushed Thomas from the scene, but a helicopter intercepted on U.S. Highway 20 and flew the coach to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo. He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

About 30 male and female athletes were working out in the bright red steel building at the time of the shooting, according to school officials. None was injured. The school was placed on lockdown after the incident.

Police said after shooting Thomas, Becker fled in a 1991 Chevrolet Lumina. Butler County Sheriff Jason Johnson apprehended Becker without incident in the driveway of his parents' residence a short time later.

Going to the weight room at 6 a.m. was a daily ritual for Thomas, Superintendent Jon Thompson said. Helping students achieve their athletic dreams was important to the coach. More important, though, was making sure students had inner strength, Thompson said.

It didn't matter if the student was male or female, Thompson said, the coach treated all students the same - almost.

"If a student was downcast for some reason, then I think he gave them extra attention," Thompson said.

He says Thomas' legacy is not going to be as a coach.

"It's going to be as a role model, a husband and just an outstanding man," Thompson said.

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Krista Kannegeiter graduated from Aplington-Parkersburg in May. The 17-year-old remembers Thomas, her social studies teacher, always being prepared, whether football season was under way or playoffs loomed.

Thomas took time to chat with students in the lunchroom. If someone had a problem, he was genuinely concerned and offered help. Thomas had taught and coached at the school since 1975.

"He treated kids equally. He wanted us to get good grades, stressed teaching and making us better people," Kannegeiter said.

High school Principal Dave Meyer went to the weight room shortly after the shooting and saw Thomas on the floor. Meyer and authorities declined, however, to describe the scene or specifics about what transpired because authorities were interviewing students who witnessed the incident.

More than a hundred students, former players, teachers and community members gathered at Parkersburg Elementary just west of the weight room as word spread about the shooting. People exchanged stories about Thomas through tears and hugs as they consoled each other.

Crisis counselors were on hand for students and will be in the future, according to school officials.

"They are grieving pretty hard. He was more than a teacher and coach. He cared about people," Meyer said.

Residents are shocked, calling Thomas' slaying a senseless tragedy. People are wondering why Thomas - who gave his heart and soul to the community - was gunned down. Authorities have not released a motive.

LaVern Kluiter was working in his yard a couple of hundred yards from the weight room when the shooting took place. He recalls Thomas taking time to wish him well more than a decade ago as Kluiter battled cancer.

"He said, 'LaVern, we're praying for you.' That's the kind of guy he was," Kluiter said.

A neighbor, Deb Oldenburger, cried when she thought of her former teacher not roaming the sidelines of the "Sacred Acre," the Falcons' football field.

"I'm just heartbroken. The school meant so much to him, and now he won't be around to appreciate it when it opens," Oldenburger said.

Parkersburg made national news 13 months ago when an F5 tornado destroyed about one-third of the town, including the high school and Ed Thomas' home.

City Clerk Gary Hinders said Thomas' death is another blow for a community already traumatized.

"This is not a way to get on the national news," she said.

School officials recall Thomas standing on the hill overlooking the high school and football field after the storm and being more concerned for the community's loss than his own. The coach spearheaded recovery efforts at the school, according to officials, and he inspired students and the public to volunteer. He became the face of the town.

Knowing how important football is to the community, Thomas worked to get the field in shape. He organized volunteers and fundraising efforts and with his players, helped dig a grave for a tornado victim.

The impact of Thomas' death extended well beyond Butler County.

Gov. Chet Culver called Thomas a legend and a role model.

"He's someone that I really admire a great, great deal," Culver said. "He was instrumental in bringing Parkersburg back."

Sen. Charles Grassley said Thomas' leadership helped revive the community, an image that will be etched in the minds of Parkersburg residents and Iowans forever.

With a new high school scheduled to open this fall and new houses and businesses filling in empty lots, Parkersburg residents were looking toward the future.

"I thought we were getting to that healing point," Oldenburger said. "It's going to be a hard loss."

Thomas spoke at Wartburg College last semester during a week dedicated to spirituality, said the Rev. Ramona Bouzard, pastor at the college. Thomas spoke to students and community members in a packed chapel about his faith, being positive, working hard and having good values, Bouzard said.

"He got a standing ovation twice," she said.

Bouzard remembers that Thomas emphasized in his talks the importance of relationships and "being the kind of person that can be trusted and return the gifts that you've been given through other people's support."

Friends and community remembers describe Thomas as a man of faith. Christians believe that love sustains during seasons of pain and confusion, Bouzard said.

"One of the struggles we always have as Christians is to trust in God's presence and help in times when things just seem so random," she said.

"It's not the promise we are going to be protected from things that come along but that we belong to Christ whatever our state, so the comfort of that community rooted in that love sustains us in these times where we have such big questions," Bouzard added.

Staff writers Josh Nelson and Karen Heinselman contributed

to this story.