Catholic Bishop’s Death Being Handled As ‘Murder Investigation,’ Los Angeles Officials Say

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department stated Sunday that authorities investigating David O’Connell’s murder are treating the situation as a murder investigation. A spokesperson for The Daily Wire said that.

O’Connell (69), Archdiocese of Los Angeles was gunned down in his Hacienda Heights home.

Alex Stone, ABC News correspondent, reported that authorities had ruled out suicide overnight. His home was notified of a medical emergency on Saturday afternoon.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Investigators believe that David O’Connell, the auxiliary bishop of LA Archdiocese, has been killed by murder. After O’Connell died in a medical emergency on Saturday afternoon, suicide was ruled out overnight.

— Alex Stone (@astoneabcnews) February 19, 2023

The Daily Wire did not receive any comments from authorities regarding this report. The death of the bishop was previously considered suspicious by investigators, but there were not many details.

CBS Los Angeles was informed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that the shooting took place just before noon on Saturday. A man was found with a gunshot wound in his chest by deputies. The victim was quickly declared dead.

“I am very sad this afternoon to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell has passed away unexpectedly,” Archbishop of Los Angeles José H. Gomez said in a statement Saturday. “It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness.”

“As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for forty-five years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother,” Gomez added. “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.”

Pope Francis in 2015 named O’Connell Auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. In 2015, Pope Francis named O’Connell Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles. He was also the chairman of Southern California’s interdiocesan Immigration Task Force. This group helped respond to the recent influx of Central American immigrants. He was also the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

John Rigolizzo was a contributor to this report.