Arrest made in killing of Los Angeles bishop found shot in home

LOS ANGELES — Police have classified a shooting that claimed the life of a Catholic clergyman in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles as a homicide.

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Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, 69, was killed on Saturday afternoon at a home in Hacienda Heights, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told The Washington Post.

Updated 6:42 p.m. EST Feb. 20: In a news conference Monday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the suspect in the murder of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has been identified as Carlos Medina, 65.

Medina’s house in Torrance, California, was a site of a standoff early Monday morning, according to KTLA.

A neighbor told investigators that Medina was at his house around 2 a.m., Luna said, according to KTLA. Officers tried to get him to surrender but he refused. Just after 8 a.m., Medina surrendered and was taken into custody.

Luna said that Medina is the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, according to KTLA. Multiple people told investigators that Medina had been acting strange lately and reportedly made comments that O’Connell owed him money but that has not been confirmed.

Medina reportedly drove an SUV that was similar to one seen on surveillance video leaving the driveway of O’Connell’s house Sunday morning, according to KTTV.

Luna said in the news conference that there was no forced entry into O’Connell’s house.

The time of death remains under investigation as well as many other elements of the investigation. The motive has not yet been released.

- Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Updated 1:31 p.m. EST Feb. 20: Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that authorities investigating the bishop’s murder made an arrest in the case.

The identity of the suspect was not released. A press conference is expected on Monday afternoon.

Original story: Deputies were called to a medical emergency and found O’Connell’s body at a home. O’Connell, known as a “peacemaker” served as a priest and bishop in L.A. County for nearly 50 years, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In a statement, Archbishop José Gomez confirmed that the sheriff’s department determined O’Connell’s death was a homicide and said “We are deeply disturbed and saddened by this news. Let us continue to pray for Bishop Dave and his family. And let us pray for law enforcement officials as they continue their investigation into this terrible crime.”

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a statement on Twitter, “My heart grieves after learning of the murder of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell. He lovingly served as a priest and Bishop in Los Angeles County for forty-five years. He was a peacemaker and had a passion serving those in need while improving our community.” Luna added that his department is “committed to arresting those responsible for this horrible crime.”

Authorities told KTLA that O’Connell was killed by a single gunshot wound to his upper torso.

Parishioners gathered at the crime scene on Saturday to remember O’Connell.

“It broke me and I was scared to tell my wife because my wife loved him so much,” parishioner Johnny Flores told KABC.

“He was always talking to people about Jesus and forgiveness, and the least judgmental person I have ever met,” Linda Dakin-Grimm, a longtime friend of the victim, told The Washington Post. “He was really based in faith, not ambition or position or being in a social club.”

“Everybody’s loss. Everybody that knew father, everybody that knew Bishop O’Connell … I mean, it’s just devastating,” Jerry Dietz, a parishioner, told KTLA.

In an earlier statement, Gomez remembered O’Connell, saying, “Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. 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. He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. I know we all will.”

No arrests have been made and no motive has been announced, according to The Washington Post.

O’Connell was born in County Cork, Ireland in 1953 and was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015 by Pope Francis, KNBC reported. O’Connell served as the chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force and the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.