May 2 (UPI) — A man who police believe shot and killed five of his neighbors inside a Texas home has been arrested following a massive four-day search that involved more than 250 law enforcement officers and an $80,000 reward.
San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said the person believed to be Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested in the city of Cut and Shoot, Texas, on Tuesday and was taken to the Montgomery County Jail where he was charged with first-degree murder.
State District Judge John Wells set bond at $5 million when the arrest warrant was issued following Friday’s mass shooting, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.
Authorities were still waiting for fingerprinting to determine a positive identification on the suspect.
Oropesa is a Mexican national, who has been deported from the United States four times, most recently in 2016. His current immigration status is unknown.
The arrest comes four days after five people were shot from the neck up, “execution style,” with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle inside a home in Cleveland, Texas, Capers said in a Facebook post Friday.
Five people died, including an 9-year-old who died en route to a hospital. Three others were injured and hospitalized, including several who are in critical condition.
The victims, who were all from Honduras, were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and her son, Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9; Diana Veláquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and José Jonathan Cásarez, 18.
The sheriff told KHOU-TV on Saturday that the victims ranged in age from 8 to 40 years old. He said authorities were told that neighbors had asked Oropesa to stop shooting his rifle near their home northeast of Houston.
“We walked inside and my wife was talking to the police, and we called five times because he was being more threatening,” Wilson Garcia, whose wife and son were killed, told CNN.
“We saw him, he was leaving his property and cocked his gun,” Garcia said before the gunman charged into his home, shooting and killing his wife and their young son. Three other adults were also killed inside the house.
Honduran officials are working to repatriate the victims’ remains as the government issued a statement.
“The government of Honduras deeply regrets the loss of these valuable lives and accompanies all their loved ones in their pain,” the Honduran Foreign Ministry said.
“We demand that the pertinent authorities arrest the perpetrator of this terrible event and apply the full weight of the law.”
