Catholic bishop fatally shot in California

A Los Angeles Archdiocese auxiliary bishop known as a "peacemaker" was shot to death Saturday afternoon, officials said. 

Bishop David O'Connell, a 69-year-old native of Ireland, was shot and killed Saturday just before 1 p.m. local time inside his home in the neighborhood of Hacienda Heights, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said.

O'Connell, who had served in the Los Angeles area for 45 years, was found deceased at the scene with a gunshot wound to his chest, local outlet KCAL reported.

Investigators did not provide any suspect information, but LASD Homicide Bureau Detective Michael Modica said, "It's very early in the investigation."

Without stating how O'Connell died, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez on Saturday said the auxiliary bishop's passing "is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness."

"Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother. 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 also said.

Pope Francis named O'Connell as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015.