2023-05-03 12:56:37
- Writing
- BBC News World
image source, FBI
Oropesa’s image was distributed throughout Texas.
The FBI announced this Tuesday at a press conference the arrest of the suspect in the murder of five of his neighbors in a shootout last Friday in the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas, in the US.
The arrest of Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican citizen, occurred in a house in the city of Cut and Shoot, Texas, about 10 miles from where the shooting occurred. Authorities found him hiding under a pile of clothing.
During a press conference, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said that the community “can rest easy because [Oropesa] He’s behind bars, and he’ll stay behind bars for the rest of his days.”
At that press conference, an FBI agent assured that the arrest had taken place thanks to the collaboration of a member of the community that he had called the line that the federal agency opened to receive information leading to the capture of the alleged murderer.
The FBI was offering an $80,000 reward for information on the suspect’s whereabouts and the money will be given to the caller with the tips, authorities confirmed.
No other people were detained during the arrest, but police are questioning those who were at the residence at the time, including Oropesa’s wife, to establish whether the suspect was given shelter.
Sheriff Capers also said that it was investigating how Oropesa had obtained the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with which he is accused of having committed the murders.
image source, Reuters
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers announced the arrest of Francisco Oropesa to the press.
“It’s killing everyone”
Oropesa is accused of having murdered five of his neighbors – members of the same family – on Friday after having an argument with them for having been practicing shooting with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at night.
According to reports, four families had gathered at the house on a quiet street in San Jacinto County, a rural area north of the city of Houston.
Ramiro Guzmán, who survived the attack by hiding in a closet with his wife and 6-month-old baby, said his brother-in-law had asked Oropesa to stop firing his rifle so close to their front yard because the noise bothered them.
That was when Oropesa broke into the house and started shooting, killing three mothers, a teenager and a 9-year-old boy, all of Honduran nationality.
Relatives of the victims have criticized the slow response of the police to their calls for assistance.
Jeffri Rivera, who lost his girlfriend Diana Velásquez Alvarado in the massacre, claimed to have continually called the emergency line before the shooting to report the neighbor’s threatening attitude.
When the shooter started shooting inside the house, Rivera called back several times. “I told them to hurry up because he was killing everyone,” Rivera was quoted as saying in the Houston Time.news.
When the police arrived, they found the body of his girlfriend protecting some children – including two of their own – who survived unharmed.
image source, Reuters
Authorities launched a massive manhunt after the shooting in Cleveland, Texas.
According to the newspaper, the authorities have not commented on the supposedly slow response to the incident, but some experts point out that the isolated nature of the neighborhood, streets in poor condition and lack of officers could have been some of the factors that hindered the reaction of the police. .
The FBI led an extensive search for the suspect, involving more than 200 law enforcement officers, which ultimately resulted in the suspect’s arrest.
Background
Francisco Oropesa is a Mexican citizen who was in the country illegally. Of had been deported four times previously; twice in 2009, once in 2012 and most recently in 2016.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that in 2012 he was sentenced to prison for driving under the influence, although it does not say how long he was in prison.
A news report on NBC this Wednesday pointed out that his wife reported him in 2022 for having hit her. Police files record that police arrived at the couple’s home where the woman refused medical attention and chose not to file a formal charge.
There is no clarity on how Oropesa re-entered the country illegally and, crucially, how he was able to get hold of a semi-automatic rifle despite being undocumented.
Following his arrest, he was brought before a magistrate and is now being held in a San Jacinto County Jail on $5 million bail.
The suspect is charged with five counts of murder, though a grand jury could add more serious charges, the county district attorney said.
image source, CBS
A small tribute to the victims was erected outside the house where the shooting occurred.
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