Shock in Los Angeles: the auxiliary bishop of the Californian city, David O’Connellknown for his work helping immigrants, the poor and victims of gun violence, was shot and killed yesterday.
This was reported by the Catholic news agency, according to which the prelate died in a shooting which took place around 1pm local time inside a house in Hacienda Heights, in the county of Los Angeles. O’Connell, 69, was shot dead in the chest, LAPD is investigating.
The Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez confirmed the death, saying O’Connell, who served in the city for 45 years as a priest and then bishop, “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 had a great love for Our Lady,” he said. ”He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and immigrants, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.” ‘
Hacienda Heights is a community approximately 20 miles (30 kilometers) East of downtown Los Angeles.