Why was Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell fatally shot?
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell is Fatally Shot at his Los Angeles Home, police say: Bishop, David O’Connell, was killed on Saturday in his home in Hacienda Heights.
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| Bishop David O’Connell |
"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," Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles said.
The shooting death of a high-ranking Catholic Church bishop in Los Angeles is being investigated as a homicide.
Ruth Graham contributed reporting.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell was found dead at a home in Hacienda Heights
Echo report published in The New York Times.
Bishop Robert Barron, a former auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who now serves in Minnesota, said he first met Bishop O’Connell in September 2015, when they were both appointed on the same day as bishops.
Bishop O’Connell cared deeply for victims of social and racial injustice and spent most of his priesthood in South Central Los Angeles, Bishop Barron said.
He had a gift for telling stories and also had a “delightful, playful sense of humor,” Bishop Barron said, adding that Bishop O’Connell had even once performed at a comedy club’s open mic night.
He was “the kind of person that when he walked in the room, everyone felt better,” Bishop Barron said. “He just lifted everybody up.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to an emergency medical call, found the bishop, David O’Connell, at his home with a gunshot wound around 1 p.m., the department said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, the authorities said. The circumstances leading to the shooting and the precise nature of the medical call were not immediately clear.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said that it was investigating Bishop O’Connell’s death as a murder.
Bishop O’Connell, 69, lived in Hacienda Heights, a suburban community in the San Gabriel Valley.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a statement, José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, described Bishop O’Connell as a “peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant.”
Bishop O’Connell, who had served Los Angeles for 45 years, “had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Archbishop Gomez said.
Bishop O’Connell, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, on Aug. 16, 1953, was appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2015. He was one of five auxiliary bishops supporting Archbishop Gomez, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Bishop Robert Barron, a former auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who now serves in Minnesota, said he first met Bishop O’Connell in September 2015, when they were both appointed on the same day as bishops.
Bishop O’Connell cared deeply for victims of social and racial injustice and spent most of his priesthood in South Central Los Angeles, Bishop Barron said.
He had a gift for telling stories and also had a “delightful, playful sense of humor,” Bishop Barron said, adding that Bishop O’Connell had even once performed at a comedy club’s open mic night.
He was “the kind of person that when he walked in the room, everyone felt better,” Bishop Barron said. “He just lifted everybody up.”
The bishop studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said. He had previously served as a pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles, including St. Michael’s and St. Frances X. Cabrini.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that “Bishop O’Connell was an active member of our Conference and a champion for the poor” who had previously led its anti-poverty initiative.
A month after becoming a bishop, Bishop O’Connell said in a July 2015, interview with The Angelus, the publication of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that being a pastor in South Central Los Angeles had been “the great joy of my life.”
What led to the horrific shooting was unclear.
Echo report by Christine Chung published in The New York Times:
An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was fatally shot at his home.
An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was fatally shot at his home.
Bishop Robert Barron, a former auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who now serves in Minnesota, said he first met Bishop O’Connell in September 2015, when they were both appointed on the same day as bishops.
Bishop O’Connell cared deeply for victims of social and racial injustice and spent most of his priesthood in South Central Los Angeles, Bishop Barron said.
He had a gift for telling stories and also had a “delightful, playful sense of humor,” Bishop Barron said, adding that Bishop O’Connell had even once performed at a comedy club’s open mic night.
He was “the kind of person that when he walked in the room, everyone felt better,” Bishop Barron said. “He just lifted everybody up.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to an emergency medical call, found the bishop, David O’Connell, at his home with a gunshot wound around 1 p.m., the department said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, the authorities said. The circumstances leading to the shooting and the precise nature of the medical call were not immediately clear.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said that it was investigating Bishop O’Connell’s death as a murder.
Bishop O’Connell, 69, lived in Hacienda Heights, a suburban community in the San Gabriel Valley.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a statement, José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, described Bishop O’Connell as a “peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant.”
Bishop O’Connell, who had served Los Angeles for 45 years, “had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Archbishop Gomez said.
Bishop O’Connell, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, on Aug. 16, 1953, was appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2015. He was one of five auxiliary bishops supporting Archbishop Gomez, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Bishop Robert Barron, a former auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who now serves in Minnesota, said he first met Bishop O’Connell in September 2015, when they were both appointed on the same day as bishops.
Bishop O’Connell cared deeply for victims of social and racial injustice and spent most of his priesthood in South Central Los Angeles, Bishop Barron said.
He had a gift for telling stories and also had a “delightful, playful sense of humor,” Bishop Barron said, adding that Bishop O’Connell had even once performed at a comedy club’s open mic night.
He was “the kind of person that when he walked in the room, everyone felt better,” Bishop Barron said. “He just lifted everybody up.”
The bishop studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said. He had previously served as a pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles, including St. Michael’s and St. Frances X. Cabrini.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement that “Bishop O’Connell was an active member of our Conference and a champion for the poor” who had previously led its anti-poverty initiative.
A month after becoming a bishop, Bishop O’Connell said in a July 2015, interview with The Angelus, the publication of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that being a pastor in South Central Los Angeles had been “the great joy of my life.”
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| Bishop David O'Connell (born in 1953 in Ireland and died 2023 by gun violence - or murder- in California) |
“It’s been a great privilege, a great blessing to be given these parishes all these years, to be pastor all these years,” he said. “The people have touched my heart the way they are sincere.”
Ruth Graham contributed reporting.
Labels: Bishop David O'Connell, Hacienda Heights, The New York Times
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 4:50 PM
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