A Catholic priest was shot dead on April 3 by a man who approached him at his parish rectory in the town of Seneca, KS according to church officials.
“I am heartbroken to share the tragic news of the death of Fr. Arul Carasala, who was fatally shot earlier today,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, KS stated in a Facebook. “This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend.”
Carasala has been a pastor at the church Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca since 2011 according to his profile on the Parrish website. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native country of India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He became a U.S. citizen in 2011, where he started serving as a pastor at Saint Peter and Paul shortly after.
Carasala was shot at the church rectory and passed away shortly after being transported to the local hospital.
Kris Anderson, the parish’s director of religious education stated in an interview about the subject that, “from what we know, an older man walked up to him and shot him three times,” she said, adding that she didn’t know who shot him or why.
The archbishop said in his 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 of about 2,100 people in northeastern Kansas, about 60 miles north of Topeka and about 90 miles northwest of Kansas City.
“Carasala was a devoted and zealous pastor who faithfully served our Archdiocese for over twenty years, including as dean of the Nemaha-Marshall region,” he wrote. “His love for Christ and His Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care. His parishioners, friends, and brother priests will deeply miss him.”