Shock in Los Angeles: Auxiliary Bishop of the California city David O’Connellknown for his work supporting immigrants, the poor and victims of gun violence, was shot dead yesterday.
This was reported by the Catholic News Agency, after which the prelate died in a shooting that took place around 1 p.m. local time at a home in Hacienda Heights, County Los Angeles. O’Connell, 69, was shot in the chest and killed, the LAPD is investigating.
The Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez confirmed the death and said O’Connell, who served as a priest and then bishop in the city for 45 years, “died suddenly”. “It’s 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 loved Our Lady dearly,” 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 is honored and protected.”
Hacienda Heights is a community located approximately 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles.