UPDATE: Murder suspect arrested in killing of Catholic Bishop David O’Connell
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, broadcast reports said.
Citing Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators, TV and radio stations reported the shooting victim was 69-year-old Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell.
A suspicious death investigation was underway following the shooting, LASD homicide detective Michael Modica told reporters late Saturday night.
Deputies received a call reporting a person was not breathing and bleeding in a Janlu Avenue home, where they discovered a person dead in a room from an apparent gunshot wound to the torso, Modica said.
It was not immediately clear whether a firearm was discovered at the scene. LASD officials could not immediately be reached for further clarification on the investigation.
The shooting occurred just before 1 p.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, near Los Robles Avenue and Turnbull Canyon Road, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
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.
At 10 p.m. the intersection of Janlu and Los Robles remained crowded with Sheriffs’ personnel and church parishioners, who gathered to mourn and prayer for their beloved bishop.
The crowd clutched rosaries and candles while alternating between singing Ave Maria and reciting The Lord’s Prayer.
“I was devastated to hear this,” said Donna Marie, local resident and member of St. John Vianney Church in Hacienda Heights. “Everybody is pretty shocked right now, because this kind of thing doesn’t happen around here.”
O’Connell was a kind-hearted man, known with a thick Irish accent and great sense of humor, Marie said. His 8 a.m. Masses were well attended by the local Catholic community.
Father Albert Avenido of the Sacred Heart church in Covina came to the scene to recite the Holy Rosary and comfort mourners. He is working with other Catholic leaders to organize a special prayer service and vigil on Janlu Avenue on Sunday, Feb. 19.
“It’s a complete shock,” he said, adding that at first he didn’t believe the news.
O’Connell was a very approachable and friendly bishop and incredibly generous with his time, Avenido said. The late bishop had recently volunteered to lead next week’s Ash Wednesday Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic School in Covina.
“You can imagine how busy the bishops are on Ash Wednesday and he offered to celebrate Mass in our school,” he said. “We were all so excited.”
Jose Alvarez, a member of St. Anne’s Church in Santa Monica, said O’Connell was a bishop of the people. Alvarez first met O’Connell at a “incredibly powerful” healing Mass in 2016.
“The bishops are usually inaccessible,” he said. “A lot of times they’re kind of hidden and in an office, but he was out in parish doing a healing mass.”
Alvarez, like so many of the mourners gathered on the street corner, was shocked by the death.
“When I first heard the news I thought he had a heart attack,” said Alvarez. “I’m shocked it was through a gun shot.”
Avenido said he expects many St. John Vianney parishioners and members of the Catholic community to continue gathering on Janlu to pray for O’Connell.
”He was a very prayerful man,” Avenido said. “You could see it in his personality — it’s not just because you see him kneeling down praying — you know that he’s a prayerful man because you can see it in his life.”
I was very sad to learn of the passing of Bishop O’Connell. He was a longtime friend. I was fortunate to work with him during my time on the city council and again as Supervisor.
I join with Archbishop Gomez and the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in mourning his loss. https://t.co/vhl6sbbXNu pic.twitter.com/ZuMprnsw6W
— Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) February 19, 2023
We join @ArchbishopGomez in grieving the sudden loss of one of our bishops. Bishop O’Connell was an active member of our Conference and a champion for the poor and marginalized as the former Subcommittee Chairman of @PovertyUSA_CCHD. May he rest in peace. https://t.co/oIzKLfcqnV
— U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (@USCCB) February 19, 2023
In a statement on lacatholics.org, Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Los Angeles Archdiocese 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.”
Archdiocese spokesperson, Doris Benavides, said Saturday evening the cause of O’Connell’s death was “yet to be determined” and was under investigation.
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.”
A statement from the archdiocese said O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1953, and was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.
He studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979. After ordination, he served as associate pastor in several parishes and as pastor at St. Frances X. Cabrini, Ascension, St. Eugene and St. Michael’s parishes, all in L.A. Among his associate pastor assignments were St. Raymond in Downey, St. Maria Goretti in Long Beach and St. Hillary in Pico Rivera.
He was the chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, helping coordinate the church’s response to immigrant children and families from Central America in recent years. He was key in sponsoring the enrollment of several young immigrants in Catholic schools, several of whom have advanced to college.
Last September, O’Connell was honored with the Evangelii Gaudium Award from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, for his service to the community and the Church in the Los Angeles area.
At a national level, he was the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops.
According to Catholic News Agency, O’Connell served as an intermediary in the aftermath of the 1992 riots triggered by the acquittal of the police officers who beat Rodney King, efforting to rebuild communication between police and Los Angeles’ communities of color.
The riots made national headlines during O’Connell’s first term at St. Frances X. Cabrini. According to Angelus News, O’Connell spoke of traveling to Washington, D.C. to serve on a panel focused on violence in urban America and returned home to find the community in turmoil, including his parish.
City News Service contributed to this report.
