After a four-day manhunt, a suspect has been arrested in the shooting deaths of five people, including a 9-year-old boy, inside a home in the town of Cleveland, Texas.
Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested about 17 miles away in the city of Cut and Shoot in Montgomery County, Texas, at about 6:30 p.m. Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said a call to the FBI’s tip line revealed Oropeza’s location.
Oropeza was charged with five counts of murder and booked in the Montgomery County Jail. He will be taken to the San Jacinto County jail and held on a $5 million bond.
The shootings began late Friday after the suspect, identified as Oropeza, began firing a gun late that night. A next-door neighbor, identified as Wilson Garcia, walked up to a fence and asked him to stop.
“We asked him not to shoot there because my baby was scared,” Garcia said. The suspect refused, saying it was his property.
Garcia said he called police. The family made four more calls in almost 10 minutes before the shooter, carrying an AR-15-style rifle, ran toward Garcia’s house, according to The Associated Press.
The suspect entered Garcia’s home and opened fire on the people inside. Garcia told KTRK-TV his wife and 9-year-old son were killed in the attack, along with three other people. His wife was standing on their porch when she was shot.
More than a dozen people, some of whom had moved to the home earlier in the week, were in the house during the shooting. The victims were shot in the head, “execution style,” Capers said, and two were found draped over children to shield them. The children survived.
The suspect fled and police later recovered a cellphone, clothes and a rifle believed to have been used in the shooting, Capers said. More weapons were found in the suspect’s home. Police said they were working with the suspect’s wife in the search.
Capers said the police response was delayed because he had only three officers covering 700 square miles. Cleveland is about 45 miles north of Houston.
About 250 officers from local and federal agencies are searching for the suspect. Authorities said Sunday that they had “zero leads.” A collective $80,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest.
Here is what we know. All times are local.
Friday, April 28
11:31 p.m.: The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office receives a call about the shooting. Officers respond as other 911 calls are received.
Saturday, April 29
5:23 a.m. San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office posts alert about shooting on Facebook.
7:21 a.m. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers says on Facebook that officers are investigating a mass shooting in the 100 block of Walter Drive in the Trails End area of Cleveland.
9:57 a.m.: Authorities charge Francisco Oropeza, 38, with five counts of murder.
6:03 p.m.: In a news conference, the sheriff’s office identifies the five victims:
- Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25
- Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21
- Julisa Molina Rivera, 31
- Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18
- Garcia’s son, Daniel Enrique Laso, 9
6:56 p.m. On Facebook, the sheriff’s office says Oropeza is accused of “shooting and killing 5 people at a residence in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 29th. An extensive manhunt for Oropeza has not yielded his location.”
Judge John Wells, 411th District, issues an arrest warrant for a first-degree felony murder charge for Oropeza and sets a $5 million bond.
Sunday, April 30
9:02 a.m.: On Twitter, the FBI says the search continues and says Oropeza is armed and dangerous.
12:15 p.m.: The FBI releases a photo of Oropeza and later retract it because it is the wrong photo.
2:28 p.m.: On Twitter, FBI releases photos of Oropesa and says, “Going forward, the subject’s last name will be spelled “Oropesa” to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. This remains a fluid investigation.”
4 p.m.: Police say the manhunt continues.
Monday, May 1
Oropeza remains at large.
Tuesday, May 2
Oropeza is arrested.
CONTRIBUTING John Bacon and Terry Collins
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press