Catholic Bishop of California found shot to death, police say

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An investigation into the murder of a prominent Catholic bishop in Hacienda Heights is being investigated as “suspicious”.

Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell, 69, was found dead in a room in a house on the 1500 block of Janloo Avenue around 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Michael Modica said.

Industry deputies were responding to an emergency medical call when O’Connell was found, who appeared to have been shot in the upper torso.

The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez released a statement after the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Information Bureau determined it was a homicide. In part, he said:

“Early this morning, we learned from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office that they have determined that Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell’s death yesterday was a homicide. We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news.

We will continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let’s pray for the law enforcement officers who continue to investigate this horrific crime.

We ask our Most Holy Theotokos to intercede and become a mother to all of us at this moment of sorrow and pain.”

O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1953 and was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He served as a priest and bishop in Los Angeles County for over 45 years.

O’Connell was chairman of the Southern California Interdiocesan Immigration Working Group and also chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and immigrants and a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life is honored and protected,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a statement.