LA sheriff arrests man for the murder of Catholic bishop, 69, after he was shot dead in his home

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Catholic bishop who was found shot to death inside his Los Angeles home over the weekend.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell’s Hacienda Heights home Saturday afternoon, where they found the clergyman with a gunshot wound to his upper torso in his bed. The 69-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The following day, deputies officially said they were investigating O’Connell’s death as a murder before announcing on Monday that they have made an arrest.

Authorities told NBC 4 Los Angeles the man was identified early on in the investigation through an ‘unnamed technical means,’ and he was arrested without incident — though a reporter on the scene said the man had barricaded himself inside his home overnight.

The suspect’s name has not yet been released, but neighbors have identified the suspect as Carlos Medina, whose wife worked with the bishop.

A news conference on the arrest is expected at 3pm local time. 

A reporter on the scene said the suspect had barricaded himself inside his home overnight

Los Angeles Daily News reporter Clare Harter said the suspect had barricaded himself in his home, with a neighbor reporting that sheriff’s deputies first arrived at midnight but the suspect did not emerge until 9am.

One neighbor Luis Lopez said the suspect’s name is Carlos Medina, and his wife had worked for the Bishop O’Connell, and another told Harter that the suspect was an ‘odd man’ in his 50s who was up at all hours of the night to dig in his yard.

‘I’m just shocked and overwhelmed,’ Marty Hernandez told the reporter. ‘You wouldn’t know that you have somebody that lives next to your house that would do such a thing.’ 

His wife’s whereabouts are unknown. 

Deputies had received a call reporting that a person was not breathing at the address, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. 

The Los Angeles Times reported that O’Connell was found dead in his bed, with law enforcement sources saying that there were no signs of forced entry at his Janlu Avenue home, which is owned by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 

It remains unclear whether a firearm was found at the scene.

The auxiliary bishop’s death was first announced by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which called O’Connell a ‘peacemaker’ and a man of ‘deep prayer’ who cared for everyone during his 45 years with the Church.

‘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 in a statement.

‘He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. I know we all will. 

‘Please join me in praying for Bishop Dave and for his family in Ireland. 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.’

Prior to becoming an archbishop, O’Connell served as an associate pastor at several Los Angeles parishes. He is pictured here in June 2016

The auxiliary bishop was remembered as a kind-hearted man with a thick Irish accent and a great sense of humor

Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies have now arrested a man in connection with O’Connell’s death. A forensic investigator is seen here leaving the bishop’s Hacienda Heights home on Sunday

Following the announcement, parishioners gathered outside O’Connell’s home, where some were seen crossing themselves as the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department continued its investigation.

The mourners clutched their rosaries and candles while alternating between singing Ave Maria and reciting the Lord’s Prayer, according to the Valley Tribune.

Many were in shock of the news, with several citizens of the LA suburb where more than 80 percent of residents are either Hispanic of Asian questioning who would kill such a respected figure. 

‘I was devastated to hear this,’ said Donna Marie, a local resident. ‘Everybody is kind of shocked right now because this kind of thing doesn’t happen around here.’ 

Jose Alvarez agreed, saying: ‘When I first heard the news, I thought he had a heart attack. I’m shocked it was through a gunshot.’

He said the auxiliary bishop was a man of the people. ‘The bishops are usually inaccessible,’ Alvarez explained. ‘A lot of times, they’re kind of hidden in an office, but he was but in parish doing a healing mass.’ 

Johnny Flores also told ABC 7: It broke me and I was scared to tell my wife, because my wife loved him so much.’

Mourners who gathered outside the archbishop’s home on Saturday said he had a gift for healing. He is pictured here in 2016 giving a blessing to Cheryl Bertola

Ramona Torres brings flowers and a framed message to pay her respects to Bishop David O’Connell near his home in Hacienda Heights on Sunday

The Rev. Albert Avenido, left, and sacristan Hector Ibarra lead members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Covina, Calif., on a prayer vigil for Bishop David O’Connell near his home

Votive candles and messages were left outside the bishop’s residence following his death

The bishop was remembered over the weekend as a kind-hearted man with a thick Irish accent and a great sense of humor. 

Glendy Perez said he was ‘a humble soul.

‘He was not the type that would have confrontations with nobody,’ she said. ‘He was very loving and he had like a gift of healing.

‘When you would attend his ceremonies, it was like a gift of healing.’ 

Father Albert Avenido, of the Sacred Heart church, also arrived at the scene Saturday night to recite the Holy Rosary and comfort mourners.

He is now working with other Catholic leaders to organize a special memorial mass for O’Connell. 

But in the meantime, Alvarez says he thinks people will continue to show up outside the bishop’s home.

‘He was a very powerful man,’ Alvarez explained. ‘You could see it in his personality — it’s not just because you see him kneeling down praying — you know that he’s a powerful man because you can see it in his life.’

Meanwhile, Janice Hahn, the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, tweeted: ‘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 a supervisor,’ she continued. ‘I join with Archbishop Gomez and the people of Los Angeles in mourning his loss.’

And the US Conference of Catholic Bishops tweeted: ‘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 of the poor and marginalized.’ 

 The well-loved clergyman was born in Ireland and was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015. A prominent figure in Hacienda Heights, the clergyman had been hailed as a ‘peacemaker’ by residents of the predominantly Hispanic community

Neighbors and parishioners prayed the rosary outside his home on Sunday

Deputies were called to O’Connell’s house Saturday afternoon after receiving a report that a man was not breathing

O’Connell was born in Ireland in 1953 and was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.

He studied at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese in 1979, first as an associate pastor in several parishes before becoming an archbishop.

O’Connell also served as the chairman of the Interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, helping to coordinate the Church’s response to immigrant families from Central America. 

Last September, O’Connell was honored with the Evangelii Gaudium Award from St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo for his years of service to the community and the Church in the Los Angeles area.

And at a national level, O’Connell was the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

He had recently volunteered to lead next week’s Ash Wednesday Mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic School.

‘You can imagine how busy the bishops are on Ash Wednesday, and he offered to celebrate the Mass in our school,’ said Father Avenido.

‘We were all so excited.’