Five people are dead, including at least one child, after a neighbor allegedly shot them “execution style” at a home in Texas late Friday, KHOU-TV reports.
The Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 11:31 p.m. reporting harassment at a residence in the town of Cleveland, located about 50 miles north of Houston.
Deputies who arrived on scene found the victims. The youngest is believed to be an 8-year-old boy while three other deceased victims are adults. There were conflicting reports about whether the fifth victim was also a minor.
Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and the 8-year-old was rushed to a hospital where he later died. All the victims were shot “execution style” from the neck up, according to ABC News.
Three other individuals were injured, according to KHOU-TV.
Investigators believe that the murders occurred after a neighbor was asked to stop firing an AR-15-style rifle in his front yard while a baby was trying to sleep.
“My understanding is that the victims, they came over to the fence and said ‘Hey could [you not do your] shooting out in the yard? We have a young baby that’s trying to go to sleep,’ and he had been drinking and he says ‘I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,'” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told KTRK-TV.
Capers said it appeared that some of the deceased tried to shield children from the bullets. Two female victims were found in a bedroom lying atop two children who survived the massacre.
“In my opinion, they were actually trying to take care of the babies and keep them babies alive,” Capers told KTRK-TV.
The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Francisco Oropesa, is described as a Hispanic male who police believe was intoxicated at the time of the slayings, according to The Washington Post. He is about 5-foot-8 with short black hair and was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and work boots.
Authorities believe that Oropesa, a Mexican national, has fled the area. A manhunt is underway to find him.
Law enforcement initially spelled the suspect’s name Oropeza but has since said that Oropesa is more accurate.
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