LOS ANGELES – Officials have confirmed that the passing of an auxiliary bishop associated with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in Hacienda Heights is being treated as a homicide investigation.
Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to a home on Janlu Avenue around 1 p.m. on Saturday in response to a medical emergency call.
Bishop David O’Connell was discovered in a room within the house with a gunshot to the upper part of his body.
O’Connell, who had served as a priest and subsequently as a bishop in Los Angeles for 45 years, was pronounced dead at the scene.
No information concerning any suspects has been released by the sheriff’s department.
According to ABC News, investigators eliminated the possibility of suicide overnight. No additional details are currently available.
