On February 18, O’Connel was discovered in his residence with a bullet injury, described L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, who headed the briefing.
Authorities have accused Medina as the person accountable for shooting the Bishop in his residence in Hacienda Heights.
During the media briefing, Luna stated: “At that moment, a man was declared dead at the location while law enforcement officers and medical professionals reached the house.
While in his home’s bedroom, auxiliary Bishop David O’Connel suffered from at least one gunshot injury to his upper torso. It was later revealed that the individual was Luna included.
At the time, it was unclear to our detectives the cause of death, as there was no forced entry into Bishop’s residence and the firearm found at the scene appeared to be of a suspicious nature.
Luna clarified that a car was seen in O’Connell’s driveway on surveillance video on the exact day of the shooting.
Luna stated that Carlos Medina was recognized as this individual. Investigators additionally received a lead that a possible suspect in relation to the gunfire lived in Torrance, California on Sunday.
Detectives were concerned that Medina was acting strangely and irrationally due to comments made about owing him money, as they were informed by the tipster Luna.
Medina, who is the husband of O’Connel, the housekeeper of Bishop’s residence, drove a similar SUV previously seen in the driveway of the residence Bishop and has also done work at the residence Bishop before.
Medina declined the plea to give up and vacate his dwelling, a summon that originally law enforcement issued to him. Following his arrival at his residence on Monday at approximately 2 a.M., Police endeavored to apprehend Medina, as Luna also mentioned.
He eventually complied and stepped out of his residence at around 8:15 a.M. And was subsequently taken into custody without further incident.
The murder of the Bishop, in case any of the firearms were utilized, will require investigation through examination, and two weapons were found during the authorities’ search at his residence.
Newsweek has reached out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for a statement.
A member of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, O’Connell directed Newsweek to its statement on being contacted after his death.
It informed Newsweek that Most Reverend José H. Gomez stated: “Bishop Dave was a close companion to Los Angeles.
I would say that among the many things that I admired about him in his ministry and life, was that he was fluent in Spanish. He served this city for more than forty years as an immigrant from Ireland, out of his love for God.
He tirelessly demonstrated empathy every day to all those residing on the fringes of society, including the immigrant, the homeless, and the impoverished.
I am very grateful to Luna Sheriff for working hard to bring the suspect into custody and for his dedication to his investigative team. We are very sad to lose him. He was a man of peace, a good bishop, and a good priest.
Thank you for your coverage and concern. On behalf of the entire Catholic community, we want to express our gratitude to the Office of the Sheriff for their sensitivity and professionalism during this painful and sad time.