Arrest made in killing of prominent LA Bishop David O’Connell

A suspect has been arrested in the murder of prominent Los Angeles Bishop David O’Connell after he was found gunned down in his home over the weekend, authorities said Monday.

Local reports said a man was taken into custody after barricading himself inside his home on Kenwood Ave in Torrance in an hours-long standoff with police. Pictures from the area show a Sheriff’s SWAT team on the road with a heavily armored police vehicle.

A neighbor described the suspect as “an odd man who was up at all hours of the night and always digging in his yard,” reporter Clara Harter wrote on Twitter.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department, who is leading the murder probe into the 69-year-old’s slaying, said further details about the arrest would be provided at a news conference on Monday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Times also reported the suspect has ties to a woman who had access to the bishop’s home.

O’Connell, who was the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was found dead inside his Hacienda Heights home at about 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Irish native had been shot in the upper torso, authorities said.

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that early indications revealed no signs of forced entry into the Catholic archdiocese-owned home — located just blocks from a church — where O’Connell lived alone.

Investigators also don’t believe the fatal shooting was random, the report said.

Authorities have not yet said publicly whether the bishop was targeted or if his religion was a factor in the killing. 

O’Connell, who had been a priest for 45 years, was hailed as a “peacemaker” in the wake of his slaying.

“He was a peacemaker and had a passion serving those in need while improving our community,” LA Country Sheriff Robert Luna tweeted.

Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez also offered the archdiocese’s prayers for the family of “Bishop Dave,” as well as law enforcement investigating the crime.

“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.

Neighbors and shocked parishioners left flowers and candles and prayed the rosary next to police tape outside his home on Sunday.

The slain priest had worked in South Los Angeles for years and was heavily involved with gang intervention and helping newly arrived immigrants into the country.

Pope Francis had named him one of several auxiliary bishops of the LA archdiocese in 2015.