The drunk suspect who gunned down five Texas neighbors — including an 8-year-old boy — after he was asked to stop shooting his rifle outside to avoid waking a sleeping baby managed to slip away from law enforcement, who consider him “armed and dangerous.”
Authorities initially tracked Francisco Oropeza, 38, to a wooded area about a mile or so from the crime scene in the hours after the bloodshed, but as of 7 p.m. Saturday he was no longer “cornered,” said San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.
“An extensive manhunt for Oropeza has not yielded his location. If you have any tips or information, please call our office immediately at 936-653-4367. You can remain anonymous,” the sheriff’s office posted on its Facebook page.
“Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous, do not approach or attempt to apprehend.
“Contact local authorities immediately.”
Oropeza is a Mexican national, while the victims were from Honduras, the sheriff said.
The FBI is now leading the hunt for Oropeza, Capers said.
Police recovered the murder weapon, Oropeza’s cell phone, and clothes, according to reports.
The gun-toting suspect was firing shots from his AR-15 style rifle outside his home in the Houston suburb of Cleveland, Tex., just before midnight Saturday when a neighbor asked him to stop, telling him the infant was trying to sleep.
He then marched to the home and went on a killing spree, said police, who noted Oropeza was caught on video walking up to the front door.
“These people stepped out to ask him to quiet down, and he took offense to that and walked into their house and basically executed them,” Capers told The Post.
A total of 10 people were inside the home at the time of the shooting.
The victims ranged in age from 8 to 40 years old.
Five of the residents survived, including three children.
“This is the most horrific scene I’ve worked, and I’ve been in law enforcement for 41 years,” Capers told The Post.
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