Catholic bishop found dead of gunshot wound
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Roman Catholic bishop in Southern California was found dead Saturday of a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The newspaper reported that Bishop David O’Connell was found in Hacienda Heights around 1 p.m.
According to information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, homicide detectives responded to “a shooting death investigation.” A male adult victim was located and pronounced dead at the scene.
The block in question is a residential street lined with one-story ranch-style homes.
Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez confirmed the death, saying O’Connell, who served in the city for 45 years as a priest and later a bishop, “passed away unexpectedly.”
“It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness,” Gomez said in a statement, calling him “a good friend.”
“Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother,” he said. “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.”
Hacienda Heights is an unincorporated community about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles.