California bishop found dead of gunshot wound

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Roman Catholic bishop in Southern California was found dead Saturday from a gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The newspaper reported that Bishop David O’Connell was found in Hacienda Heights around 1 p.m

According to information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, homicide detectives were responding to “a shooting death investigation.” A male adult victim was located and pronounced dead at the scene.

The block in question is a residential street with one-story ranch-style homes.

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles confirmed the death and said O’Connell, who served as a priest in the city for 45 years and later as a bishop, “passed away unexpectedly.”

“It’s a shock and I have no words to express my sadness,” Gomez said in a statement, calling him “a good friend.”

“Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer and great love for Our Blessed Mother,” he said. “He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and immigrants, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected.”

Hacienda Heights is an unincorporated community about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.