Los Angeles Bishop Shot And Killed In His Home

A Catholic bishop He was killed and shot in Los Angeles on Saturday.

David O’Connell (69), the Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese Los Angeles was gunned down in his Los Angeles home. Los Angeles County Saturday afternoon in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office stated that it was investigating the death of the bishop as suspicious but did not provide any details.

“I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly,” Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez said in a Statement Saturday. “It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.”

O’Connell was born in Ireland and served the archdiocese from 1979 to 1979. He also served as a stronghold in the community, with many years of service throughout Los Angeles. Gomez called O’Connell a friend and requested that people pray for him.

“As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for forty-five years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother,” Gomez added. “He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported CBS Los Angeles The shooting occurred just before noon on Saturday. The victim was shot in the chest and deputies arrived to find him. The victim was quickly declared dead.

“It’s very early in the investigation,” LASD Homicide Bureau Detective Michael Modica stated to CBS Los Angeles. “We got a lot more steps we have to take to make more determination to what’s happening.”

According to Angelus NewsO’Connell studied at All Hallows College in Dublin as a seminarian. In 1992, O’Connell was a prominent figure in Los Angeles as he was the pastor of St. Frances X. Cabrini. O’Connell was a mediator between the police and South L.A. residents.

Pope Francis named O’Connell the Auxiliary Bishop Los Angeles in 2015. In 2015, Pope Francis named O’Connell Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles. He was also the chairman of Southern California’s interdiocesan Immigration Task Force. This group helped to address an influx of Central American immigrants in recent years. He was also chairman of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases