Authorities on Sunday were still searching for a man accused of gunning down five people, including a child, inside a Texas home late Friday, KHOU-TV reports.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, multiple law enforcement agencies are working to locate the suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa, and have widened their search after finding an abandoned cell phone and clothing.
“He could be anywhere now,” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said at a press conference on Saturday evening, according to the television station.
The manhunt comes as investigators piece together what they believe happened leading up to the slayings. Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, the Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting harassment at a residence in the town of Cleveland, about 50 miles north of Houston.
Deputies who first arrived came upon a horrific scene, with multiple people dead and others injured.
There were 10 people inside the house at the time of the shooting, and some of the adults used their bodies to help protect children, including two women who were found “covered in blood” lying on top of three kids. The women were physically unharmed, Capers said, according to Fox News.
Four of the people killed were declared dead at the scene, while a young boy was rushed to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The deceased victims were identified as 8-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 18-year-old Jose Jonathan Casarez, 21-year-old Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 25-year-old Sonia Argentina Guzman, and 31-year-old Julisa Molina Rivera. All the victims are reportedly from Honduras.
Police believe that before the victims were attacked, Oropesa was shooting an AR-15-style rifle outside his home and someone from the victims’ house asked that he stop shooting because there was a baby trying to sleep.
Oropesa allegedly responded by saying something the effect of “it’s his property, he’ll do whatever he pleases on his property,” Capers told reporters, according to KVUE-TV. “The man went back into the house. Next thing they know, he’s walking up the driveway with rifle in hand.”
Wilson Garcia told KTRK-TV that he was the neighbor who asked Oropesa to stop shooting because he was trying to get his 1-month-old child to sleep.
“We had company. We were going to make something to eat, the guy came out and he was shooting. We asked him to be quiet ’cause my baby was scared,” Garcia told the television station through a translator.
Garcia told Oropesa that he would contact police, but before that was possible, the gunman walked to his front door and shot his wife.
“I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people,” Garcia told KTRK-TV, describing the terrifying ordeal. “He couldn’t catch up to me. The bullets were hitting (everywhere).”
To report information about Oropesa’s whereabouts, call the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office at 936-653-4367.
Law enforcement initially spelling the suspect’s last name Oropeza but has since said Oropesa is more accurate.
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[Feature Photo: Francisco Oropesa/San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office]
