A Bowling Green man who claimed he was “moved by the message” to stab his father during a service at Hillvue Heights Church admitted guilt in court Monday.

Ethan Andrew Buckley, 21, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in Warren Circuit Court to a charge of first-degree assault.

Buckley accepted an offer from the Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office that will recommend a 10-year prison sentence. He would have to serve at least eight and a half years before he is eligible for any kind of release, according to the plea agreement.

The Bowling Green Police Department arrested Buckley on Aug. 14 after being called to the church on Nashville Road, where authorities found Buckley’s father, David Buckley, with knife wounds to his neck.

Witnesses reported hearing a commotion during an altar call and believing initially that David Buckley was having a seizure.

Pastor David Tooley told police he was standing at the altar at the time of the incident and heard a “weird noise,” according to court records.

“(Tooley) then heard David Buckley state, ‘Don’t let him kill me, don’t let him kill me,’ ” BGPD Officer Alex Wright said in an incident report.

Another pastor, Jamie Ward, was walking the aisles in the church when he heard yelling.

When he realized what was happening, Ward jumped over chairs and grabbed Ethan Buckley’s arms from behind, court records show.

Police recovered a knife with blood on its blade about 5 feet from where emergency personnel attended to David Buckley, who was transported to The Medical Center and then taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he was treated for his injuries and released.

According to an arrest report, Ethan Buckley told police that he was “moved by the sermon and decided to kill his dad.”

“Ethan Buckley stated his father’s time here on earth was up because he had done a lot of good things in his life,” BGPD Detective Mike Nade wrote in an affidavit for a search warrant. “Ethan Buckley stated he resented his father because his father was such a good guy while he (Ethan) was a screw-up and a drug addict.”

Ethan Buckley underwent a psychiatric examination after his arrest that was meant to assess his competency to stand trial, and Warren Circuit Judge John Grise ruled in November at the end of a competency hearing that the defendant was competent.

Ethan Buckley is scheduled to be sentenced by Grise on March 28.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com