LA Bishop David O’Connell Found Dead !

The religious community of the US city of Los Angeles was shocked by the death of Bishop David O’Connell, 69, whose shooting murder is being investigated by the California police.

Emergency Call Response 

Police officers responding to an emergency call Saturday afternoon, found the body of LA Bishop David O’Connell, at a home in Los Angeles, according to authorities.

The discovery occurred around 1 pm local time. Catholic Bishop David O’Connell was inside a home a few blocks from his church, according to reports.

Gunshot Wound 

LA Bishop David O’Connell had a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, but police had not released any further details, as of Sunday afternoon.

Catholic Bishop O’Connell, was found dead in a house near one of his archdiocese’s churches. 

Shocking Death 

O’Connell’s violent death has shocked the Los Angeles community, where the man was renowned for his skills as a crisis negotiator.

It is a shock and he had no words to express his sadness, such was said by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, José H. Gómez, in his statement.

50 Years Of Service 

LA Bishop David O’Connell officiated as a priest for nearly five decades and was hailed as a peacemaker. He was gunned down a few blocks from a church.

The Bishop’s body was found at a home in Hacienda Heights, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The archdiocese detailed that O’Donnell lived in that neighborhood, but did not clarify if the Bishop was at home or elsewhere.

Homicide Investigation

The killing is being investigated as a homicide, said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which did not provide details of the event, but did indicate that the perpetrators of the crime were still at large. 

LA Bishop David O’Connell was a native of Ireland and Pope Francis had appointed him in 2015, as one of several auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the country.

He Fought Gangs

The LA Catholic Bishop worked in the south of Los Angeles for years and focused on fighting gangs.

He also tried to broker peace between residents and law enforcement, in the aftermath of violent 1992 protests, after a jury acquitted four white Los Angeles police officers, who brutally beat African-American Rodney King on March 3rd, of 1991.

Where His Body Was Found

LA Bishop David O’Connell was found in Hacienda Heights, where he lived, around 1 p.m., yesterday, with a gunshot wound and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said. 

Authorities initially reported the day before, that homicide detectives had responded to a shooting death investigation, involving an adult male victim, but did not identify the victim as O’Connell, until this morning.

He Was A Peacemaker…And he had a passion to serve those in need, while improving the community, Sheriff Robert Luna stated on Twitter, about LA Bishop David O’Connell!