After a four-day search, the man suspected of killing five neighbors in a rural Texas home was apprehended on Tuesday, May 2.
The search for Francisco Oropeza, 38, began on Friday, April 28, when he fled the scene of the deadly shooting in Cleveland, roughly 45 miles north of Houston.
Oropeza was shot after his neighbors urged him to cease firing shots in his yard because a baby was attempting to sleep. The mother of the newborn and his 9-year-old brother were among the five individuals slain.
The victims, all immigrants from Honduras, were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.
Law enforcement believed Oropeza fled on foot. They found clothes and a cellphone in the area around the home, which includes a dense forest, Capers said.
Though the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack was recovered, officials said Oropeza should be considered armed and dangerous. According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Oropeza had been deported four times since 2009.The FBI Houston office stated that the suspect’s surname will be spelled “Oropesa” rather than “Oropeza” to “better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.”
Sheriff Henderson stated that Mr. Oropeza was apprehended without incident not far from the scene of the shooting. Authorities said they located the guy hiding beneath a mound of laundry in a house’s closet after acting on a tip.
Police had used drones and scent-tracking dogs during the wide search for Mr Oropeza that included combing a heavily wooded forest a few miles from the scene.
Oropeza will be transported back to the San Jacinto County jail and held on a $5 million bond.