HOUSTON – Law enforcement officials in Texas have captured Francisco Oropeza at a relative’s home, ending a four-day manhunt for a suspect who police say fled after a mass shooting on Friday night that left five neighbours dead, including a 9-year-old boy, reported dpa today.
A tip to the FBI at 5.15pm yesterday led authorities to Oropeza at his sister’s home in the town of Cut and Shoot, about 20km from where the shooting occurred in the rural community of Cleveland, north of here.
Sometime after 6pm, police said they discovered Oropeza hiding under a pile of laundry in a closet at the home.
Authorities arrested Oropeza without incident, after warning people in the area that he could be armed and dangerous.
Oropeza, 38, was briefly jailed in Montgomery County before being transferred to a detention facility in the San Jacinto County seat of Cold Springs. He went before a magistrate and is being held on US$5 million (RM22.3 million) bail.
The arrest comes after police say Oropeza entered a household on a quiet pockmarked street in rural Texas on Friday evening and massacred five people: three mothers, a teenager and a 9-year-old boy.
Police say Oropeza stormed into his neighbour’s house and started firing at members of the four families who had gathered that evening.
Ramiro Guzman, who survived the massacre hiding under a blanket in a closet with his wife and 6-month-old, said his brother-in-law had asked Oropeza to stop shooting his AR-15 rifle so close to their front yard because the noise disturbed his sister and brother-in-law’s baby.
Sheriff Greg Capers said at a news conference that tips came in from across the nation, including Wyoming and Florida. More than 200 law enforcement officials aided in the search.
San Jacinto County district attorney Todd Dillon said Oropeza’s wife was at the Cut and Shoot home at the time of his arrest.
Authorities are investigating whether Oropeza’s relatives had been hiding him in the days since the deadly shooting, Dillon said. No one else has been arrested in connection with the shooting and Oropeza’s flight, authorities said.
Oropeza is charged with five counts of murder but a grand jury could impose more serious charges, the district attorney said.
Loved ones of those killed welcomed the arrest.
“Of course, I’m happy but not much because this isn’t going to bring my woman back,” said Jeffri Rivera, whose 21-year-old girlfriend, Diana Velasquez Alvarado, was among those killed. The mother of two young boys died protecting a group of children from gunfire, her boyfriend said.
The five people killed were Alvarado, Sonia Argentina Guzman Taibot, 25, Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Daniel Enrique Lazo Guzman, 9.
In the days since the slaughter, family members demanded answers about what they say was a slow police response time.
Rivera, who survived the rampage, said he called 911 multiple times before the shooting started and told dispatchers the neighbour was acting threateningly. As the gunman fired inside the home, Rivera said he called 911 several more times.
“I told them to hurry up because he was killing everyone,” Rivera said.
Police found his girlfriend’s body protecting the children – including two of her own – who survived uninjured.
San Jacinto county sheriff Greg Capers has not responded to repeated requests for comment on response times, nor has the office produced 911 call logs or dispatch records. – Bernama, May 3, 2023
