Man killed priest, wanted to ‘make church great again’: Cops

Inset, left to right: Arul Carasala (Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann) and Gary L. Hermesch (Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church (Google Maps).

A 66-year-old Oklahoma man who wanted to “make church great again” has been arrested for allegedly killing a Catholic priest, fatally shooting the 57-year-old victim just outside of the church rectory in Kansas last week.

Gary Hermesch was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of 57-year-old Arul Carasala, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the incident took place on the afternoon of Thursday, April 3, at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church rectory in the 400 block of Pioneer Street, in Seneca, which is about 200 miles northeast of Wichita.

Deputies with the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Seneca Police Department at about 2:50 p.m. responded to a 911 call regarding a report of “shots fired” at the church. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located Carasala outside of the rectory suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds.

Paramedics with Seneca EMS soon arrived and rushed Carasala to the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital for treatment. Lifesaving measures failed and the priest died from his injuries shortly after arriving at the medical facility

“Kansas Highway Patrol troopers responded and helped secure the scene. Shortly after, deputies from the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Seneca Police Department took Gary L. Hermesch, 66, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, into custody,” the release states. “He was booked into the Nemaha County Jail on suspected first-degree murder.”