CLEVELAND, Texas — A man who lost his wife and son in a shooting rampage in Texas cried so loud that his sobs could be heard in the choir singing “Amazing Grace” during the concert. praying on Sunday night, the suspect is still on the run.
Suspect Francisco Oropesa, who is charged with the murders of five people, opened fire in the yard of his home in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night when neighbor Wilson Garcia approached and asked him to stop so his children could sleep.
Instead, authorities said, Oropesa, 38, took an AR-15 rifle from his home and went to Mr. Garcia’s home, where he killed his 8-year-old son, wife and three people. other.
“I have no words to describe what happened,” Garcia said in Spanish at the vigil, where dozens of people surrounded him and other shooting survivors, praying with them. wish. “We are alive, but without life,” he said. “I was able to escape thanks to a miracle.”
Earlier on Sunday, law enforcement officials admitted they did not know the suspect’s whereabouts, adding that they considered him a threat.
“We don’t know where he is,” James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI in the Houston area, told reporters at a news conference. “We don’t have any advice as to where he might be at the moment. Right now, we have no leads.”
Authorities said more than 200 officers, including state troops, were searching for Mr. Oropesa. They offered a $80,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said there were 10 people in the home at the time of the shooting. He said Mr. Oropesa was drinking when Mr. Garcia asked him to stop firing. Sheriff Capers said Mr Oropesa replied, “I’ll do what I want in my front yard.”
Capers said authorities believe they have recovered the AR-15 used in the shooting, but Oropesa may still be carrying a different weapon. Authorities said they found more guns in his home as well as a phone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the dead as Mr. Garcia’s wife, Sonia Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21 years old; Juliza Molina Rivera, 31 years old; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18 years old; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8 years old.
Mr. Garcia said at the vigil, two of the women died while protecting Garcia’s infant and 2-year-old daughter by embracing them and covering them.
He said that when Mr Oropesa refused to cease fire in his yard, he warned him he would call the police, and did so five times. The police said they were far from the vicinity, he added, but they were on their way.
Mr. Garcia said about 10 to 20 minutes after talking to Mr. Oropesa, he started shooting. After a woman saw Mr. Garcia’s wife shot, she urged Mr. Garcia to jump out of the window, he added, “because my children didn’t have a mother and needed at least one father or Mom.”
Authorities said three people were taken to hospital after the shooting. Officials said all of the victims were from Honduras. Governor Greg Abbott’s office said Oropesa and Garcia and their families were both in the United States illegally.
Police Chief Capers said Sunday: “My heart goes out to this 8-year-old boy. “I don’t care if he’s here legally or not. I don’t care if he’s here illegally. He’s in my district.”
Authorities initially identified the suspect as Francisco Oropeza, but on Sunday afternoon The FBI said that his last name would later be spelled Oropesa “to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.”
An “incorrect” image of Mr Oropesa was “misrepresented”, the agency say on Twitter on Sunday. The FBI said it removed the image from its social media accounts and asked others not to share it.
Oropesa had a history of shooting rifles in the front yard, prompting neighbors to call law enforcement on other occasions, according to authorities. They say a smart home doorbell equipped with a camera captured him approaching a neighbor’s front door with his weapon on Friday, and they interviewed his wife.
Court records show Oropesa was charged with drunk driving in Texas in 2009 and convicted. Sentences in that case are not immediately available.
In response to questions about whether Oropesa can legally fire a firearm in his yard, Sheriff Capers said it depends on the size of the property and where the weapon is pointed.
Rene Arevalo, who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting took place, says people in the community often shoot guns for sport and it’s not unusual to hear gunshots, but he’s never witnessed anything. any controversy involving firearms.
Mr. Arevalo, who lives with his wife and 21-year-old son, said he had considered building a fence around the house. Now, he added, it’s a necessity. “It’s disturbing,” said Mr Arevalo, “not knowing who his neighbours are.”
Eliza Fawcett And April Rubin contribution reports, and Kirsten Noyes And Jack Begg Contributing research.
