Texas shooting suspect arrested after manhunt
STORY: A man who suspected of killing five of his neighbors in Texas has been arrested after a four-day manhunt.
The suspect, identified as Francisco Oropesa, was captured on Tuesday in the Texas town of Cut and Shoot, about 17 miles away from where the bloodshed broke out last week. He faces five counts of murder.
Last Friday, Oropesa had been firing bursts from his semi-automatic rifle in his yard. That prompted his neighbors to ask him to stop because the noise was keeping their baby awake.
Police said the 38-year-old went back into his apartment and reloaded, then barged into his neighbor’s home and opened fire, killing five of the 10 people inside, including an 8-year-old boy.
The FBI said it had been working with law enforcement nationwide and in Mexico to find Oropesa.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said law enforcement agencies received a tip-off about the suspect’s location on Tuesday.
[Greg Capers, San Jacinto County Sheriff]
“He was caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry. They effectively made the arrest, he is uninjured and he is currently being taken to my facility in Coldspring.”
However, authorities declined to comment whether the suspect was aided by family or associates while on the run.
Police say Oropesa is a Mexican national who was deported from the U.S. four times since 2009.
When asked how he was able to get hold of an AR-15 style rifle, Capers suggested he could have bought it off the streets.
Most of the victims were shot in the head. All were from Honduras and living at the address but were not all family members.
