Suspect in Texas mass shooting caught after intense manhunt

Cut and Shoot, Texas - Law enforcement officials in Texas have captured Francisco Oropeza at a relative's home, ending a four-day manhunt for a suspect who police say fled after a mass shooting Friday night that left five neighbors dead, including a nine-year-old boy.

Officials in Texas have captured Francisco Oropeza at a relative's home, ending a four-day manhunt for the suspect in the Cleveland shooting.
Officials in Texas have captured Francisco Oropeza at a relative's home, ending a four-day manhunt for the suspect in the Cleveland shooting.  © via REUTERS

A tip to the FBI around 5:15 PM Tuesday led authorities to Oropeza at his sister's home in the town of Cut and Shoot, about 12 miles from where the shooting occurred in the rural community of Cleveland, north of Houston.

Sometime after 6 PM, police said they discovered Oropeza hiding under a pile of laundry in a closet at the home.

Authorities arrested Oropeza without incident, after warning people in the area he could be armed and dangerous.

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Oropeza was briefly jailed in Montgomery County before being transferred to a detention facility in the San Jacinto County seat of Cold Springs. He went before a magistrate and is being held on $5 million bail.

The arrest comes after police say the 38-year-old entered a household on a quiet pockmarked street in rural Texas on Friday evening and massacred five people: Diana Velasquez Alvarado (21), Sonia Argentina Guzman Taibot (25), Jose Jonathan Casarez (18), Julisa Molina Rivera (31), and Daniel Enrique Lazo Guzman (9).

Suspected mass shooter charged with five counts of murder

Francisco Oropeza has been charged with five counts of murder.
Francisco Oropeza has been charged with five counts of murder.  © via REUTERS

Ramiro Guzman, who survived the massacre hiding under a blanket in a closet with his wife and six-month-old, said his brother-in-law had asked Oropeza to stop shooting his AR-15 rife so close to their front yard because the noise disturbed his sister and brother-in-law's six-week-old baby.

Sheriff Greg Capers said at a news conference that tips came in from across the nation, including Wyoming and Florida. More than 200 law enforcement officials aided in the search.

San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said Oropeza's wife was at the Cut and Shoot home at the time of his arrest. Authorities are investigating whether Oropeza's relatives had been hiding him in the days since the deadly shooting, Dillon said. No one else has been arrested in connection with the shooting and Oropeza's flight, authorities said.

Oropeza is charged with five counts of murder but a grand jury could impose more serious charges, the district attorney said.

Cover photo: Collage: via REUTERS

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