Global Courant 2023-04-30 03:27:43
A Mexican is suspected of killing five neighbors in Southeast Texas after one of them asked him to stop firing his rifle late Friday, saying a baby was trying to sleep.
The suspect in the execution-style murders is Francisco Oropeza, 39, a Mexican national, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers. There is currently no photo of Oropeza available.
Police have located Oropeza and hope he will be taken into custody soon, Capers told Fox News Digital. The sheriff said police pinned the suspect down in a wooded area 2 miles west of the crime scene where an eight-year-old boy was one of five killed.
Capers also said a perimeter has been established in the wooded area, adding that about 50-75 law enforcement officers in the area are looking for Oropeza.
The Texas Department of Corrections has sent a team of dogs, mounted officers and a drone into the air to assist in Oropeza’s arrest, police said.
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Francisco Oropeza, 39, a Mexican national, is suspected of killing five people near Cleveland, Texas, Friday, April 28, 2023. (Fox news)
A Mexican national is suspected of killing five neighbors near Cleveland, Texas, on Friday, April 28, 2023, after one of them asked him to stop firing a gun. (KTRK)
In a tweet, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is helping the search for Oropeza.
Capers told Fox News Digital that he is “praying” that the suspect will be taken into custody in the next two to four hours.
He said it was the first mass shooting incident with more than three casualties his office has ever dealt with.
“No one should ever witness this,” Capers said. “Nobody should ever have to go through this.”
Just before midnight, deputies from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to respond to a call for “harassment” at the 100 block of Walters Road in the Trails End area of Cleveland, about 50 miles north of Houston.
En route to the crime scene, the sheriff’s office received multiple 911 calls about an active shooter at the scene. Upon arrival, officers found that five people had been shot in the home, police said.
According to the sheriff, the suspect was a neighbor who fired an AR-15 style .223 caliber rifle into his yard before midnight. Police found shell casings in the yard.
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“One of the victims came out of the house and said, hey, we have a little baby trying to sleep,” Casper told KTRK. “And the man said: I shoot in my front yard, I do what I want in my own home.”
A Mexican national is suspected of killing five neighbors at a home near Cleveland, Texas, on Friday, April 28, 2023, after one of them asked him to stop firing a gun. (KTRK)
Witnesses told detectives that the shooter had consumed alcohol.
What happened next is shocking. According to police, the man walked to the front door of his neighbor’s house and started shooting. A victim was found near the doorway leading to the living room. Another victim was found dead in the living room. Upstairs, two more women were found shot to death, their bodies shielding young children who survived and were taken to a hospital.
Caspers said each victim was shot in the head.
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When police arrived, four people were pronounced dead at the scene and an eight-year-old boy in critical condition was airlifted to a local trauma center, where he died, Capers said.
A SWAT unit from neighboring Montgomery County arrived to assist and cleared several properties near the crime scene. The shooter was determined to flee the county.
Police respond to the scene where a Mexican is suspected of killing five neighbors near Cleveland, Texas Friday, April 28, 2023, after someone asked him to stop firing a gun. (KTRK)
A shooting near Cleveland, Texas on Friday, April 28, 2023 killed five people and injured at least three. (KTRK)
Three other victims were taken to the hospital “covered in blood,” according to the sheriff’s office. It was not clear if they were injured or if the blood was from the other victims.
Capers said the victims were from Honduras. He said a total of 10 people lived in the house. Of the dead, four were adults, one man and three women, while the youngest was only eight years old. The three other victims who were taken to hospital are children.
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Two other people in the home were assessed on the spot and released, police said.
“When we got here, the two females in the bedroom actually lay over the younger kids, two of the three younger kids” who survived, Capers said.
The sheriff’s office is withholding the victims’ identities pending notification to next of kin, but says it has a copy of Oropeza’s consular ID card.
Caspers said authorities seized a shotgun, two rifles, including the .223 caliber rifle, and a handgun from the victims’ residence.
A judge issued a warrant for the suspect’s arrest and set bail of $5 million.
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Texas Rangers are assisting with the ongoing investigation. Police are asking the public to avoid the area as there is still a heavy police presence.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
