A man who was shot to death Saturday afternoon in Hacienda Heights has been identified as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Citing Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies, KCAL News reported the shooting victim was 69-year-old Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell.
The shooting occurred just before 1 p.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. No suspect description was released.
In a statement on lacatholics.org, Most Reverend José H. Gomez Archbishop of Los Angeles made no reference to the shooting but said: “I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly. It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.”
Archbishop Gomez said O’Connell was a priest and later a bishop in Los Angeles for 45 years.
“He was 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,” Gomez said.
“Please join me in praying for Bishop Dave and for his family in Ireland,” the Archbishop said. “May Our Lady of Guadalupe wrap him in the mantle of her love, and may the angels lead him into paradise, and may he rest in peace.”
Sheriff’s homicide detectives were summoned to conduct a crime scene investigation.
Anyone with information about the death was asked to call homicide detectives at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.