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USA Today
04-04-2025
- USA Today
Man arrested in fatal shooting of beloved Catholic priest in Kansas, police say
An Oklahoma man was arrested Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting of a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas, local police and church leaders said. Raj B. "Arul" Carasala, 57, the longtime pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in the town of Seneca, was found with gunshot wounds Thursday afternoon after police responded to a call reporting shots fired. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. Within an hour, police brought into custody Gary Lee Hermesch, 66, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. Hermesch was booked into the Nemaha County Jail, where he was being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, according to a jail roster. The motive for the shooting remains unclear. The state investigation bureau and the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said they were investigating the circumstances of Carasala's death. 'Shock and disbelief' Carasala was a devoted and zealous pastor who served the archdiocese more than 20 years, including as dean of the Nemaha and Marshall counties in northeast Kansas, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City said on Facebook. "I am heartbroken to share the tragic news of the death of Fr. Arul Carasala, who was fatally shot earlier today," Naumann said in a statement Thursday. "This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend." "His love for Christ and His Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care," he added. Carasala had been a Catholic priest since 1994 and a pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church since 2011, according to the parish website. Carasala was invited to come to Kansas to possibly serve in the archdiocese by one of its former archbishops, the late James P. Keleher. "We are in shock and disbelief," said the Facebook page of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. "Please allow our parish community to process."
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
A man is in custody after the fatal shooting of a beloved Kansas priest
SENECA, Kansas (AP) — An Oklahoma man is being held on suspicion of fatally shooting a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas, authorities said. Officers called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on Thursday afternoon found Arul Carasala with gunshot wounds outside the rectory, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. Sheriff's deputies and officers with the Seneca Police Department later arrested Gary Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Authorities say Hermesch, 66, is being held in the Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. The Associated Press left a phone message with county prosecutor Brad Lippert seeking additional information. Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting or said whether the suspect and the priest knew each other. Kris Anderson, the parish's director of religious education, told the AP on Thursday through tears that she knew few details. 'From what we know, an older man walked up to him (Carasala) and shot him three times,' she said. The priest's death left people in shock in Seneca, a city of about 2,100 where Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church since 2011, according to his profile on the parish website. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He became a U.S. citizen in 2011. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a Facebook post that there was no ongoing threat to the community, but that he recognized the 'pain and shock' the priest's death had brought to the community. 'This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend,' he wrote. Seneca is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Topeka, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City and about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Tulsa.
Washington Post
04-04-2025
- Washington Post
A man is in custody after the fatal shooting of a beloved Kansas priest
SENECA, Kansas — An Oklahoma man is being held on suspicion of fatally shooting a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas, authorities said. Officers called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on Thursday afternoon found Arul Carasala with gunshot wounds outside the rectory, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post . The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died.
The Independent
04-04-2025
- The Independent
A man is in custody after the fatal shooting of a beloved Kansas priest
An Oklahoma man is being held on suspicion of fatally shooting a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas, authorities said. Officers called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on Thursday afternoon found Arul Carasala with gunshot wounds outside the rectory, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. Sheriff's deputies and officers with the Seneca Police Department later arrested Gary Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Authorities say Hermesch, 66, is being held in the Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. The Associated Press left a phone message with county prosecutor Brad Lippert seeking additional information. Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting or said whether the suspect and the priest knew each other. Kris Anderson, the parish's director of religious education, told the AP on Thursday through tears that she knew few details. 'From what we know, an older man walked up to him (Carasala) and shot him three times,' she said. The priest's death left people in shock in Seneca, a city of about 2,100 where Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church since 2011, according to his profile on the parish website. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He became a U.S. citizen in 2011. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a Facebook post that there was no ongoing threat to the community, but that he recognized the 'pain and shock' the priest's death had brought to the community. 'This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend,' he wrote. Seneca is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Topeka, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City and about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Tulsa.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Associated Press
A man is in custody after the fatal shooting of a beloved Kansas priest
SENECA, Kansas (AP) — An Oklahoma man is being held on suspicion of fatally shooting a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas, authorities said. Officers called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on Thursday afternoon found Arul Carasala with gunshot wounds outside the rectory, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. Sheriff's deputies and officers with the Seneca Police Department later arrested Gary Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Authorities say Hermesch, 66, is being held in the Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder. The Associated Press left a phone message with county prosecutor Brad Lippert seeking additional information. Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting or said whether the suspect and the priest knew each other. Kris Anderson, the parish's director of religious education, told the AP on Thursday through tears that she knew few details. 'From what we know, an older man walked up to him (Carasala) and shot him three times,' she said. The priest's death left people in shock in Seneca, a city of about 2,100 where Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church since 2011, according to his profile on the parish website. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He became a U.S. citizen in 2011. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a Facebook post that there was no ongoing threat to the community, but that he recognized the 'pain and shock' the priest's death had brought to the community. 'This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend,' he wrote. Seneca is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Topeka, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City and about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Tulsa.
