Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell, right, a Roman Catholic bishop in Southern California was shot and killed Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, just blocks from a church, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

A suspect has been arrested following the slaying of a Los Angeles priest.

Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell, 69, was fatally shot in the torso around 1 p.m. Saturday in his home in Hacienda Heights, near his church. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspected assailant's arrest reportedly came after an hours-long barricade in Torrance, California.

O'Connell, a native of County Cork, Ireland, served at the Los Angeles Archdiocese since 1979 and was described by parishioners and locals as a "peacemaker."

José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, stated Saturday he was "very sad to report that our beloved Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell has passed away unexpectedly."

"It is a shock and I have no words to express my sadness," said Gomez. "As a priest and later a bishop here in Los Angeles for 45 years, Bishop Dave was a man of deep prayer who had a great love for Our Blessed Mother."

He continued, "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."

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Office described O'Connell as "a guiding light for so many."

Please continue to pray for the bishop's friends, loved ones, and parishioners as they process this tragedy.

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