SENECA, Kansas — A Catholic priest was shot and killed Thursday by a person who approached him at his parish rectory within the city of Seneca, Kansas, church officers stated.
“I’m heartbroken to share the tragic information of the demise of Fr. Arul Carasala, who was fatally shot earlier right this moment,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas Metropolis in Kansas, stated in a Fb submit. “This mindless act of violence has left us grieving the lack of a beloved priest, chief, and pal.”
Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca since 2011, in line with his profile on the parish web site. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He turned a U.S. citizen in 2011.
A submit on the parish Fb web page stated the priest was shot on the the church rectory and died shortly after on the native hospital.
“A suspected shooter is reportedly in custody,” the submit stated.
Kris Anderson, the parish’s director of non secular schooling, advised The Related Press they knew few particulars.
“From what we all know, an older man walked as much as him and shot him thrice,” she stated, including that she did not know who shot him or why.
Folks answering the telephones on the Seneca Police Division and on the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Workplace declined to remark. They referred calls to County Lawyer Brad Lippert, who was touring and didn’t instantly return a name or an e mail from The Related Press in search of particulars on the taking pictures.
The archbishop stated in his submit that there was no ongoing risk to the group, however that he acknowledged the “ache and shock” the priest’s demise had dropped at the group of about 2,100 folks in northeastern Kansas, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Topeka and about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Kansas Metropolis.
“Fr. Carasala was a loyal and zealous pastor who faithfully served our Archdiocese for over twenty years, together with as dean of the Nemaha-Marshall area,” he wrote. “His love for Christ and His Church was evident in how he ministered to his folks with nice generosity and care. His parishioners, mates, and brother clergymen will deeply miss him.”
