HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. (RNS) — A stream of neighbors and Catholics from around the Los Angeles area visited the neighborhood of Bishop David G. O’Connell on Sunday (Feb. 19), a day after news spread that the auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had been found dead from a gunshot wound Saturday. The home remained surrounded by crime scene tape, and L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputies came and went as mourners prayed the rosary and left bouquets of flowers and votive candles. Several visitors talked about O’Connell’s outreach to the unhoused and lauded his advocacy for immigrants. Others recalled social gatherings where O’Connell — often referred to as “Bishop Dave” or “Father Dave” — would “sit with everyone.”
“He was one of us,” one mourner said, adding, “He prayed for everyone.”
Sheriff’s officials said they are investigating the slaying as a homicide, according to the Associated Press, but have not said whether the bishop was an intended target or if his religion was a factor in the killing. The sheriff’s department would not say how or specifically where his body was discovered within the home. As of Sunday evening, the assailant or assailants remained at-large.
Many were stunned by the violent circumstances surrounding his death.
Linda Dakin-Grimm, an immigration attorney who worked with O’Connell for more than a decade, said it was hard to believe anyo …
Suspect arrested in shooting of Los Angeles bishop is housekeeper’s husband
