Suspect Francisco Oropeza, 38, is a Mexican national who, according to reports, has been deported four times since 2009. Police claim he shot and murdered five people, including a kid, in his neighborhood after an altercation broke out over his semi-automatic gun practice.
An $80,000 (£64,000) prize has been offered for information. A vigil was held in Texas on Sunday, and a father who lost his wife and son in a shooting described the tragedy in heartbreaking detail. Wilson Garcia claimed that his one-month-old infant was upset by the shooting coming from next door, prompting him and two others to ask the man to evacuate.
Police said Francisco Oropeza, the suspect, entered Mr. Garcia’s residence and opened fire, killing five persons inside. Mr. Garcia claimed he “respectfully,” asked his neighbor in Cleveland, San Jacinto County, to move his pistol range so his infant son could sleep.
“He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted,” he told Associated Press. Mr. Garcia made five calls to the police and was repeatedly assured that assistance was on the way. Then he saw Mr. Oropeza reload his gun and start sprinting toward his house.
Sonia Argentina Guzman, his wife, recalled that he wouldn’t fire at a woman, so she told him to come inside. But as he opened fire on the home, she was the first person he killed. Fifteen people were inside the home when the shooting began, and many of them were apparently on a church retreat.
Daniel Enrique Laso, Mr. Garcia’s nine-year-old son, and two ladies who perished trying to shield Mr. Garcia’s infant and two-year-old daughter were also killed. Mr. Garcia claimed that one of the women had urged him to commit suicide by jumping out of a window so that he could look after his children.
All of the victims were Honduran nationals. Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, and Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, are the others. “I don’t have words to describe what happened,” Mr Garcia told local news. “It’s like we’re alive but at the same time, we’re not. What happened truly was horrible.”
The Houston Chronicle reported on Sunday that the three youngsters present at the time of the shooting and treated for injuries at a local hospital had been discharged. The culprit is still being sought. The cops have warned that he is dangerous and armed.
Information leading to Mr. Oropeza’s arrest is being rewarded with $80,000 (£64,000), as announced by the Texas governor, the FBI, and local authorities. At least three guns were found at the suspect’s home, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, as reported by CNN.
“I can tell you right now, we have zero leads,” FBI special agent James Smith told reporters. “We do not know where he is. We don’t have any tips right now to where he may be. Right now, we’re running into dead ends.”
After the shooting, authorities suspected Mr. Oropeza had fled the scene on foot, so more than 150 officers converged on a nearby forested area to look for him. Mr. Capers reported that the tracking dogs had lost the suspect’s scent, but that the search involving more than 200 cops had continued into Sunday.
Here you will find the most credible reporting on news out of California:
- Apparently in the Us Illegally, the Texas Shooting Suspect is the Subject of a $80k Bounty
- Four Victims of a Mass Shooting in California Were Located With Gunshot Wounds to the Head
Some law enforcement officers are on horseback as part of the manhunt, which also includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
When asked how long it took for officers to respond to Mr. Garcia’s repeated requests for help, he said that he had only three officers monitoring hundreds of square miles. Minister of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina of Honduras tweeted, “We demand that the full weight of the law be applied against those who are responsible for this crime.”
The shooting occurred days after nine people were wounded in a teen party shooting in western Texas. Four teenagers were killed during a 16th birthday celebration in Alabama two weeks ago. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearm events are the leading cause of mortality for children and teenagers in the United States.
The California Examiner is the place to go if you want the lowdown on what’s happening in the Golden State.
