After a protracted manhunt, authorities say they have located the suspect in a mass shooting that occurred last week close to Cleveland, Texas, and left five people dead, including a 9-year-old boy.
In response to a tip from the public, 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa was apprehended at a property near Cut and Shoot, Texas, at around 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Greg Capers, who confirmed the arrest at a news conference that evening.
Capers said, “He was caught hiding in a closet, underneath some laundry,”.
According to Capers, he was arrested and lodged in the Montgomery County Jail on five murder charges. His bond was set at $5 million. Capers stated that he would be moved to the Cold Springs, San Jacinto County, jail.
According to the San Jacinto County District Attorney’s Office, the apprehension was assisted by the FBI, Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals.
The suspect was located as a result of a public tip, according to Jimmy Paul, the Houston division’s lead associate special agent for the FBI.
“We’re extremely happy that the citizen had the courage and the bravery to call in that tip,” Paul said.
Authorities declined to say whether the house where Oropesa was discovered belonged to the suspect’s acquaintances or family.
According to Capers’ previous statements, the suspect shot his neighbors on Friday night after they requested that he cease firing into his yard.
North of Houston, in the vicinity of the town of Cleveland, the attack took place. Location of Cut and Shoot: 17 miles west of Cleveland.
The victims, who ranged in age from 9 to 31, were earlier described as being from Honduras and being between the ages of 9 and 31. “From the neck up,” he claimed, all of them were shot. They were Sonia Guzman, 28, Jonathan Caceres, 18, Diana Velasquez, 21, Obdulia Molina, 31, and Daniel Enrique Lazo, 9.
There were ten people in the house when the shooting occurred, but only five were harmed. Despite being found in the house covered in blood, three youngsters, according to Capers, were unharmed.
According to Capers, the AR-15-style gun that Oropesa was thought to have used in the shootings was found by police on Saturday. Additionally, the suspect’s clothes and a cell phone were discovered by the investigators.
Oropesa, a citizen of Mexico, was deported from the United States by ICE officials in Houston in 2009 after a U.S. immigration judge ordered his removal. He was detained and expelled once more numerous times over the following seven years after re-entering the nation, CBS News has learned. For driving while inebriated, Oropesa has previously been found guilty in Montgomery County and received a jail sentence.
Additionally, Capers acknowledged on Tuesday night that Oropesa’s wife had requested a protective order against him, which led to the issuance of a warrant for his arrest.
Oropesa, a citizen of Mexico, was deported from the United States by ICE officials in Houston in 2009 after a U.S. immigration judge ordered his removal. He was detained and expelled once more numerous times over the following seven years after re-entering the nation, CBS News has learned. For driving while inebriated, Oropesa has previously been found guilty in Montgomery County and received a jail sentence.
Additionally, Capers acknowledged on Tuesday night that Oropesa’s wife had requested a protective order against him, which led to the issuance of a warrant for his arrest.
