A man fatally shot a Catholic priest outside his parish rectory in Kansas on Thursday in an attack with no known motive, the authorities said.
The priest, Arul Carasala, 57, was found with gunshot wounds at around 3 p.m. by state troopers outside the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church rectory in Seneca, Kan., according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The priest was brought to a hospital where he died from his injuries.
Shortly after, the authorities arrested Gary L. Hermesch, 66, who was booked into Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, the bureau said. It remained unclear what led to Mr. Hermesch’s arrest. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer.
A motive was not immediately given for the shooting. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said the investigation was ongoing.
“This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City said on Facebook. He added, “Let us also pray for the perpetrator, that God may touch and transform his heart.”
Seneca is a town of about 2,000 people in northern Kansas, near the border with Nebraska. The authorities said Mr. Hermesch is from Tulsa, Okla., which is about 300 miles south of Seneca.
Raj “Arul” Balaswamy Carasala was born in Cuddapah, India, a city in the country’s southeast. According to an online biography, Father Carasala became the pastor of Saints Peter and Paul parish on July 15, 2011.
He was ordained in the Diocese of Cuddapah and moved in 2004 to Kansas, where he served in four different parishes before settling in Seneca.
Father Carasala became an American citizen on May 20, 2011, according to the biography. He maintained his ties to India, and believed that “the church is home wherever he is.”
Archbishop Naumann said Mass on Thursday evening in Father Carasala’s honor, according to social media posts.
“While we continue to mourn the loss of Father Arul, I pray that we will not lose hope. God is with us in our adversity,” Archbishop Naumann said. “He can bring good out of evil.”
