A suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of Bishop David O’Connell of the Archdiocese Los Angeleswho was killed in his Hacienda Heights home.
The California-based auxiliary bishop was shot to death on Saturday afternoon.
Police responded to the home after a medical emergency at 1 p.m. and found the Roman Catholic bishop suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Monday, Los Angeles-area police arrested Carlos Medina of Torrance, Calif., in connection with the shooting death.
This is all we know so far.
Found dead in bed with a gunshot wound
A member of the police said Bishop O’Connell was found dead in his bed with a gunshot wound, according to the report the Los Angeles Times. He lived alone in a home owned by the archdiocese. Neighbors said they heard no gunshots or other unusual noises before emergency services arrived.
Several members of the police said no signs of forced entry have been found and the killing is not considered random, the paper reported.
Bishop David O’Connell leads a non-denominational memorial service to provide a space for community members who have lost loved ones in 2020
(AFP via Getty Images)
A crucial tip Sheriff Robert Luna in LA said during a press conference on Monday that a local tipster alerted officials that Mr. Medina, 65, was allegedly acting strangely and irrationally over the weekend after the date of the shooting, commenting that the bishop owed him money. Mr. Medina is believed to have previously done work at the priest’s home, officials said, and his wife may have been the bishop’s housekeeper. Mr. Medina allegedly left the Los Angeles area for central California, before returning early Monday morning. A long break
After being tipped off to his location around 2 a.m. local time on Monday, officers surrounded Mr. Medina’s home for hours, and Medina finally surrendered, the sheriff said.
On Monday morning, the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau tweeted that “a SWAT operation for an armed, barricaded suspect” in Torrance “has been completed. Suspect in custody. Kenwood Ave reopened. Neighborhood safe.”
Police later found two guns and other evidence in the home.
Prison tasks indicates Mr. Medina’s bail has been set at $2,000,000. The independent working to determine if he has legal representation. It is unclear if the alleged gunman has a lawyer.
“We are deeply concerned and saddened by this news”
On Sunday, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Most Reverend José Gomez, said in a statement that “we heard early this morning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office that they have determined that Bishop David O’Connell’s death yesterday was a homicide. We are deeply concerned and saddened by this news”.
Parishioners mourn the loss of Bishop David O’Connell
“Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let’s pray for law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation into this horrific crime,” he added. “We ask our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede and be a mother to us all in this hour of sorrow and pain.”
45 years in Los Angeles as a priest and bishop
Archbishop Gomez said last Saturday that Bishop O’Connell spent 45 years in Los Angeles as a priest and bishop. He was 69.
“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and immigrants, and he had a passion for building a society where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Archbishop Gomez said. “He was also a great friend, and I will miss him dearly. I know we all will.”
Bishop O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland, on July 16, 1953, according to The New York Times. He was appointed auxiliary bishop in 2015, according to Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
In 1975 he obtained a BA in Philosophy and English Literature from University College Dublin. He also received a Bachelor of Divinity from Maynooth College in 1977, as well as a Masters of Spirituality from Mount St Mary’s College in 1987.
Person of interest detained in connection with the murder of the bishop in LA
He was ordained in 1979 after completing his studies for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin. He was an associate pastor in Downey, Long Beach and Pico Rivera before serving as pastor of several congregations around Los Angeles.
Talented storyteller with “delightful, playful humor”
Bishop Robert Barron first met Bishop O’Connell in 2015 when they both stepped into the role. Bishop Barron told The New York Times that Bishop O’Connell cared especially for those affected by social and racial injustice and dedicated the majority of his clergy to South Central Los Angeles.
The bishop added that Bishop O’Connell was a gifted storyteller and had a “delightful, playful sense of humor”, adding that he once did open mic comedy.
Bishop Barron told the newspaper that Bishop O’Connell was “the kind of person who, when he walked into the room, everyone felt better”.
“He just lifted everyone up,” he said.
“Champion of the poor and marginalized”
In a statementsaid the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops “Bishop O’Connell was an active member of our conference and a champion for the poor and marginalized”.
In July 2015, Bishop O’Connell told the Archdiocese of Los Angeles outlet Angelus working as a pastor in South Central LA had been “the great joy” of his life.
“It’s been a great privilege, a great blessing to have these congregations for all these years, to be pastor for all these years,” he added. “The people have touched my heart as they are sincere.”
He chaired the Southern California Immigration Task Force, which coordinated the church’s response to the surge in Central American migrants.
“For me, it’s really a labor of love because this is, I think, what our schools and parishes are about,” he said in 2019, according to Angelus. “Not just for unaccompanied minors, but for all our children. There is an epidemic of harming children, even those who have too much. They feel that we have abandoned them. And the migrant youth have become a metaphor for our whole society.”
Defuses tensions after police beat Rodney King
Bishop O’Connell worked in the 1990s after the police beating of Rodney King to calm relations between residents of neighborhoods affected by the subsequent riots and local law enforcement.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday that the bishop was a “champion of peace” with a “passion” for “serving those in need while improving our community.”
“My heart breaks after learning of the murder,” he said on social media.
Parishioner Ramona Torres told CNN: “I am crushed. I’ve been crying these past few days knowing that he’s no longer here to share all his inspiration and prayers and everything with us.”
Gabriela Gil, another member of the congregation, said: “I am very hurt by his passing because he is one of the most amiable people I have met.”