Authorities in Texas are on the hunt for a Mexican national, Francisco Oropeza, suspected of killing five people in San Jacinto County on Friday.
A harassment call to the sheriff’s office turned deadly on Friday night in the Trails End subdivision in Texas. According to reports, the incident began with a complaint of harassment at a home on Walter Drive just after 11:30 p.m. and quickly escalated into a shooting.
Upon arrival, authorities found multiple individuals who had been shot. Ten people were reportedly inside the home at the time of the incident, ranging in age from 8 to 40 years old, and all were reportedly from Honduras. Of those, four were pronounced dead at the scene, while an eight-year-old child died at the hospital. Fortunately, three young children were found alive inside the home, reportedly shielded from the violence by two of the victims.
The suspected shooter, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remains at large. The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office is actively seeking his apprehension, and the search has been joined by a SWAT team from a neighboring county and personnel from the Texas Department of Corrections.
Reports suggest that Oropeza killed the victims “execution style” following a dispute that arose when he fired a gun in his front yard.
A manhunt is underway for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza. He's accused of killing five people overnight, including an 8-year-old, in San Jacinto County. Here's the latest information: https://t.co/l32q0Kf48M #khou11
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) April 29, 2023
“When we got here, the two females in the bedroom were laying on top of two of three younger (surviving) children,” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said, according to KTRK.
Capers said Oropeza escaped the area after the murders. Several guns were recovered by a SWAT team.
“The suspect…we don’t believe him to be in the area,” Capers said. “He’s at least 10 to 20 miles away from here.”
A judge issued an arrest warrant for Oropeza and set a $5 million bond, ABC News reported. Oropeza is believed to be armed and inebriated, according to Reuters.
A SWAT team from a neighboring county and the Texas Department of Corrections have been deployed to help with the search.
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