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. On Friday, prosecutors charged Mr. Hermesch with first-degree murder, saying that the shooting was intentional and premeditated, according to court documents.

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