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KALAMAZOO, MI -- The mother and sister of two victims in the Feb. 20 Kalamazoo mass shooting say suspect Jason Brian Dalton is an "evil coward" for his outburst in court during a hearing Friday.

Dalton was bound over to circuit court following his preliminary examination in Kalamazoo County District Court. He is charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight counts of felony firearm use in connection with the shooting rampage Feb. 20 at three locations in Kalamazoo County. He was found competent to stand trial at an April 22 hearing.

"This part of justice was served," said Emily Smith, the sister of Tyler and daughter of Richard Smith, after the hearing.

"It was a very, very, very hard day. Very stressful," she said. "It took a lot on the emotional toll. It's hard to sit in there and listen to every single thing that's going on."

On Friday morning, testimony from one of the survivors of the shooting, Tiana Carruthers, was cut short after Dalton had an outburst in the courtroom. It caused Carruthers to break down sobbing and prompted Judge Christopher Haenicke to recess the hearing for about two hours. Dalton later appeared via video from the Kalamazoo County Jail.

Laurie Smith, the wife and mother of the victims, called Carruthers a hero for her testimony.

"Her and Alexis (Cornish) having gone through what they witnessed, to be up there, I have nothing but complete respect, admiration and love for them," she said. Cornish, who was Tyler's girlfriend and was at Seelye Kia when the Smiths were shot, also testified at Friday's hearing.

"We were ready to get up there and, if that cops hadn't been there, take him down," Laurie Smith, who was at the hearing with other family and supporters, said of Dalton's after his outburst. "He was not going to hurt one more person."

"This proves the evil coward he is," she said of Dalton. "I don't know why he just doesn't admit to what he's done and stop putting the victims and the families and the community through more trauma.

"Obviously, he's not a respectable person, but any human being would see what they have done and take responsibility for their actions, and not put everybody through it. I can't believe that he doesn't do that."

Laurie Smith said Dalton, a husband and father who had no prior history of mental illness, should realize the families have been through enough.

"Instead, what does he do? (He) creates more terror in his victims and the survivors," she said. "He is an evil coward, that is what he is."

Emily Monacelli is a reporter for MLive.com. Email her at emonacel@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.