This past Monday, local authorities were able to take in custody a suspect in connection with the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, reported a number of sources.
69-year-old O’Connell of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was recently shot dead while in his private residence located in the suburb of Hacienda Heights.
A number of media sources, such as The Los Angeles Times, reported that police officials have arrested a suspect as of this past Monday. Other sources reported that the arrest took place in the wake of an hours-long barricade in Torrance, CA.
BREAKING: Multiple sources telling @FoxNews that a suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of Bishop David O’Connell. The arrest came following a hours long barricade in Torrance, CA.
— Alexandria Hernandez (@AlexandriaHrndz) February 20, 2023
One spokesperson for The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department explained that the death of O’Connell is still under investigation and that it cannot make public any additional information.
Various law enforcement sources explained to the Los Angeles Times that O’Connell was discovered dead in his bed this past Saturday sporting a single gunshot wound. Additional sources have stated that the house showed no signs of forced entry of any kind and that the crime was not thought to be random.
The Sheriff’s Department for Los Angeles County expressed that the shooting took place just prior to 1 p.m. this past Saturday. Deputies made it to the scene and found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was pronounced dead a short while later.
Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez expressed in a Saturday statement, “I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly.”
“It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness,” stated Gomez. “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.”
“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,” he went on.
Archbishop Gomez released their own separate statement after discovering this past Sunday that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office determined that the death of O’Connell was a homicide.
“We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news,” stated Gomez. “Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let us pray for law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation into this terrible crime.”
