Police in the US have launched an investigation after an Irish bishop was shot dead.
69 year old David O'Connell - originally from Cork - was shot in Hacienda Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles, Saturday afternoon.
He had served as a priest and later an auxiliary bishop in the area for the last 45 years, and was well-known for his work with disadvantaged communities.
Southern Correspondent with the Irish Independent, Ralph Riegel says a motive for the shooting is not yet known:
"The sheriff's department are only confirming that an investigation is underway.
"The death is being treated as suspicious but they have not commented in any detail on the nature of the incident, so we don't know whether it was an accidental shooting, whether it was perhaps a robbery or if it was a deliberate attack"
Tributes have been paid in California, including by the local archbishop who described Bishop O'Connell as "a peacemaker" and asked for prayers for his family in Ireland.
