After a days-long manhunt, a man accused of killing five neighbours after they requested him to stop firing his gun in his yard was apprehended on Tuesday, according to Texas law authorities. Since the shooting on Friday in the small Texas town of Cleveland, Francisco Oropesa had managed to evade capture.
Who Is The Culprit?
At a press conference on Tuesday night, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers stated, “We now have this man in custody.” He was discovered concealing himself beneath some laundry in a closet. The 38-year-old semi-automatic AR-15 rifle owner from Mexico is accused of beating his neighbours after they allegedly requested that he cease firing because the noise was keeping a newborn awake.
The victims ranged in age from nine to thirty-one, while numerous other locals were shot multiple times and are currently in critical condition. The fact that Oropesa was in jail, according to Capers, allowed the family members who were still alive to “rest easy”.
To find the perpetrator, the authorities sent out hundreds of officers from the law enforcement community and offered a $80,000 reward for information that would result in his capture. A call to the FBI’s tip line ultimately led law enforcement to Oropesa, who was apprehended north of Houston at about 6:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to FBI special agent Jimmy Paul.
Source: tvguide
Troy Miller, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, also congratulated law officers for safely apprehending “the suspect of Friday’s brutal murders in Texas.” “Tonight’s actions clearly demonstrate that our agents and officers bring incredible capabilities to bear every day as they work to keep our communities safe,” he said in a statement late Tuesday.
Horrific Scene
After getting a complaint reporting “harassment” at around 11:30 pm on Friday, Capers earlier recounted a terrible scene when police arrived at the victims’ home.
From the front door to an interior bedroom, bodies were all over the place. Two dead ladies were discovered lying on top of two traumatised kids who had survived the massacre.
Although the victims’ immigration status was not immediately known, Texas Governor Greg Abbott drew criticism for saying the suspect “killed five illegal immigrants,” even though Abbott later said at least one victim “may have been in the US legally.”
All Of The Victims Were Hondurans By Birth
One of the dead would be interred in the United States, according to the desires of their families, according to Deputy Foreign Minister of Honduras Tony Garcia, who spoke to AFP. The other four would be returned home in the following days.
