LA Bishop Shot to Death

Bishop David O'Connell, who served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles for 45 years, was shot to death Saturday in a house in Hacienda Heights. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the killing, said O'Connell, 69, was shot once in the upper torso, KTLA reports. No information about a suspect or motive was released. "He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant," Archbishop José Gómez said in a statement, adding: "He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. I know we all will."

O'Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland, and ordained in California in 1979, per the Los Angeles Times. He served as pastor in several Los Angeles County parishes. O'Connell developed a reputation as an intermediary during the unrest that followed the 1992 acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King, per the Catholic News Agency, persuading looters to return stolen items to churches and stores. He chaired the Southern California Immigration Task Force, an interdiocesan effort. In 2015, Pope Francis named O'Connell an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese.

A 2002 Times article reported that, as a pastor in a poor neighborhood, "O'Connell spends a lot of time encouraging his parishioners to speak up for themselves—to fight for new stop signs and safer playgrounds, to demand that politicians keep their promises." Jonny Flores, of Rowland Heights, said O'Connell was never too busy to help a parishioner, no matter the issue. "He didn't hold back his words. He was well spoken," Flores said, adding: "He would take the time. He was very humble." (More Archdiocese of Los Angeles stories.)