Police detain person after murder of Los Angeles auxiliary bishop

David O'Connell, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, in a November 2021 image. Julio Cortez (AP)

Los Angeles police reported Monday that they have arrested a suspect linked to the murder of David O'Connell, an auxiliary bishop in the city, which is home to the most populous archdiocese in the United States.

The 69-year-old priest was found dead on Saturday afternoon at his home in Hacienda Heights, a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city, 30 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles.

His body showed the gunshot wound, according to the paramedics who went to the residence, owned by the Catholic Church.

Authorities are investigating the death as a murder since Sunday.

The details of the alleged murder have been released in a trickle.

The emergency teams told the local press that the religious was found in his bed.

His body registered a single bullet wound, located in the upper part of the torso.

The locks on the house were not picked, indicating to authorities that this was not a random crime.

A special group from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office arrested a man this Monday morning.

It was after a special operation carried out near the city of Torrance, 50 kilometers west of the murder site.

"The suspect is in custody," the tactical team of the sheriff's office indicated on Monday, which indicated that the alleged perpetrator of the events barricaded himself at the home.

A police source has confirmed to the

that the detainee is a man who had a relationship with a woman who worked at the O'Connell residence.

Pope Francis named O'Connell an auxiliary bishop in 2015 in the largest archdiocese in the United States.

The position was the coronation after 45 years of career in the priesthood.

The religious, originally from County Cork, in Ireland, worked for many years in South Los Angeles, populated mostly by Latin American immigrants.

The region has suffered for decades from the presence of multiple gangs.

His work focused on strengthening the spiritual life of many of the people who sought to leave the ranks of criminal groups.

His deep roots in the Latino and Central American community made him a natural interlocutor between gang members and representatives of the authorities, especially the police.

These efforts earned him the nickname The Peacemaker, a task that became especially noticeable after 1992, when the city was gripped by race riots that began after a jury acquitted white police officers who brutally beat Rodney King.

After that, O'Connell turned his work to the San Gabriel Valley, a region east of Los Angeles, where he helped rebuild a parish that had burned down.

In addition, he had pastoral experience in the cities of Downey, Long Beach, and Pico Rivera, all metropolitan regions.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news,” José Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, said Sunday.

The person in charge of the archdiocese published a statement yesterday afternoon, hours after authorities reported that O'Connell's death was in the hands of detectives from the homicide area.

"Pray for law enforcement as they continue their investigation into this terrible crime," added Gomez.

On Saturday, the archbishop highlighted O'Connell's big heart for the "poor and immigrants."

“He had a passion for building a community where the dignity and sanctity of human life was honored and protected,” said Gomez, who was born in Monterrey, Mexico.

The death of the auxiliary bishop led a dozen believers who knew O'Connell to organize a tribute in his honor at the intersection of Janlu and Los Robles streets, the intersection where the residence of a crime that has shaken the nation is located. the angelina catholic community.

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