United States: Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Shot Dead

David O’Connel, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, was assassinated

The murder of David O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, shocked the religious community in Southern California over the weekend. According to the authorities, the cleric, described as a “peacemaker”, was shot dead on Saturday a few streets from a church.

Detectives are investigating the death as a homicide, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities did not say whether the bishop was the target of the shooting. Additionally, the sheriff’s department wouldn’t say how or specifically where her body was discovered. The perpetrator or perpetrators of the shooting remain at liberty.

O’Connell, 69, had been a priest for 45 years and was originally from Irelandaccording Angelus News, the media of the archdiocese. Pope Francis appointed him in 2015 as one of the many auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the country.

O’Connell worked in South Los Angeles for years and focused on gang interventionreported Angelus News. He then tried to mediate peace between residents and law enforcement following a violent riot in 1992 after a jury acquitted four white police officers for beating Rodney King, an African-American man.

O’Connell was found in Hacienda Heights around 1 p.m. Saturday with a gunshot wound. Sheriff’s deputies rushed to the area – a few blocks from St. John Vianney Catholic Church, which is owned by the Archdiocese of O’Connell – after receiving an emergency medical call.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

The archdiocese said O’Connell lived in Hacienda Heights, but it’s unclear if he was found at his home or elsewhere.

On Saturday, the sheriff’s department initially said homicide detectives responded to “an inquest into the shooting death” with an adult male victim. Authorities did not identify the victim as O’Connell until Sunday morning.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff offered the agency’s condolences, saying detectives are “committed to apprehending those responsible for this horrific crime.”

“He was a peacemaker and had a passion to serve those in need while improving our community,” Sheriff Robert Luna said on Twitter.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose H. Gomezinitially saying only that O’Connell, who served the city for decades, “died suddenly”, without mentioning the act of violence.

Amid investigations, the archdiocese on Sunday forwarded media requests to the sheriff’s department.

“It’s a shock and I have no words to express my sadness,” Gomez said in his statement Saturday, in which he assured O’Connell was “a good friend.”

“Bishop Dave was a deeply prayerful man who had great love for Our Blessed Mother,” he said. “He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and immigrants.and had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.

Gomez said Sunday the archdiocese was “deeply disturbed and saddened” to learn that O’Connell had been killed.

“Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And pray for law enforcement officials as they continue to investigate this terrible crime,” Gomez said.

Hacienda Heights is an unincorporated community located approximately 30 kilometers east of downtown Los Angeles.