Kansas Priest Fatally Shot Outside Church Rectory; Suspect Charged

Gary Hermesch, 66, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Father Arul Carasala, a beloved pastor in Seneca, Kansas.

Father Arul Carasala, 57, was shot three times outside the rectory of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on April 3, 2025, and later died at a local hospital.
Gary L. Hermesch, a 66-year-old man from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was arrested shortly after the incident and has been charged with first-degree murder.
Authorities have not identified a motive or confirmed any prior relationship between the suspect and the victim, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Father Carasala, originally ordained in India in 1994, served the Archdiocese of Kansas City since 2004 and became a U.S. citizen in 2011.
The small town of Seneca, Kansas, is mourning the loss of the deeply respected priest, with Archbishop Joseph Naumann calling the shooting a 'senseless act of violence.'