A man accused of killing five of his neighbors after they asked him to stop shooting his rifle in his yard has been captured, according to Texas law enforcement. Francisco Oropesa, the suspected attacker, had been on the run since the mass shooting in the small town of Cleveland, Texas, last week.
Sheriff Greg Capers of San Jacinto County announced the capture during a press conference on Tuesday night. Oropesa was found hiding in a closet under some laundry.
The 38-year-old Mexican national allegedly shot his neighbors after they requested him to cease firing his semiautomatic rifle, as the noise was disturbing a baby. The victims ranged in age from eight to 31, and some residents were in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.
In the manhunt, hundreds of law enforcement officers were deployed, and an $80,000 reward was offered for information leading to Oropesa’s capture. FBI special agent Jimmy Paul credited a tip to the bureau’s hotline for ultimately locating and arresting Oropesa north of Houston on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred on the night of April 28 when the suspect entered his neighbor’s home and opened fire, killing five of the ten people inside, including an eight-year-old boy. Most of the victims were shot in the head. They were all from Honduras and lived in the same area, but not all of them were family members. The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8.