An Oklahoma man is in custody after police say he fatally shot a priest outside of a Catholic church in Kansas.
Police responded to a call at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca, Kansas, Thursday to find Father Arul Carasala outside with gunshot wounds, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Paramedics transported him to a hospital, where he later died.
Now, 66-year-old Gary Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is being held at the Nemaha County Jail and has been charged with first-degree murder, the Nemaha County Attorney’s Office told The Independent.
Hermesch’s bond has been set at $1 million.
Kris Anderson, the parish’s religious education director, told the Associated Press the community knows few details. Police have not detailed a possible motive in the case.
“From what we know, an older man walked up to [Carasala] and shot him three times,” she said.
Carasala became the church’s pastor in 2011, two months after obtaining U.S. citizenship. He was first ordained in 1994 for the Diocese of Cuddapah in southeast India. The Indian government granted him Overseas Citizen of India status, meaning he could travel there without a visa.
“As an [Overseas Citizen of India], he doesn’t need a visa to go to India and his American citizenship makes travel here and elsewhere easier,” his biography on the church’s website reads. “Father Arul states that his primary citizenship is United States. Father Arul feels the priesthood, indeed, the church, is universal and the church is home wherever he is.”
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, who leads the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, said this “senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend.”
“There is no ongoing threat to the community, but I recognize the pain and shock that such an event brings,” Naumann wrote on Facebook.
Community members are now mourning Carasala.
“Heartbreaking,” one Facebook user wrote. “When we found out both of our sons had a terminal illness, he stopped by weekly to ask about them. He did not care that we are not Catholic but knew we were grieving and ministered to us, he attended our son Dawson's funeral, and continued to ask how our other son was doing whenever our paths crossed.”
“I am in shock and so saddened by this tragedy,” another wrote. “He presided over my mother’s funeral 1 week ago. He was a faithful servant and he will be missed. May he rest in peace!”
