CLEVELAND, Texas — Francisco Oropeza was firing his gun in his yard again on Friday night, rattling off loud bangs that were keeping Wilson Garcia’s baby awake.
M. Garcia told me he had gone over to the neighbor. and He asked him if he would stop.
The authorities claimed that Mr. Oropeza had been drinking. He said no. He said that his yard was under his rule.
Mr. Garcia (30) warned that he was going to call the police. Then, after returning to his house with Mr. Oropeza (38), he reappeared with an AR-15.
He walked toward Mr. Garcia’s cream-colored home, where he shot and killed Mr. Garcia’s wife, who had called the police and Was standing at the entrance.
The rampage continued inside Mr. Garcia’s home, where the authorities said Mr. Oropeza fatally shot four other people, “almost execution-style.”
“He wanted to kill us all to leave no evidence,” Mr. Garcia said in An interview
The Episode in Cleveland, TexasThe shooting, about 45 miles north of Houston, shocked a country already used to mass murders that seemed to be the result of simple mistakes. and A neighbor’s complaint is an example of an interaction.
This month, 16-years-old in A homeowner shot a Missouri woman, 20, who had rung the wrong doorbell. in The driver of a car in New York State was killed after driving the wrong way into a driveway and two cheerleaders in Texas The driver of the car was killed after he got into the wrong one.
After the shooting of Friday evening, a massive manhunt was conducted to find the suspect. He may have fled. and The remained at Large as of Saturday night
The condition of three other victims was not known immediately after the incident, which occurred around 11:15 p.m. Officials said that all of the victims are from Honduras.
Four people have been pronounced dead at The scene and a fifth person died at a hospital, the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office said.
F.B.I. identified the victims as: Mr. Garcia’s wife, Sonia Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Juliza Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. There was some conflicting news on Saturday. There was conflicting information on Saturday. in The authorities reported that a girl of 15 years old was among those killed.
Home searches were conducted by several law enforcement agencies including the F.B.I. and Walking through wooded terrain and Sheriff Greg Capers, of San Jacinto County, said that drones were used to locate Mr. Oropeza. in A phone interview was conducted on Saturday.
Sheriff Capers told reporters The fact that Mr. Oropeza knew each other “frequently” AR-15 fire in His front yard.
Garcia said he was happy to have moved from Honduras to the United States three years earlier. “never had any problems” With Mr. Oropeza who once had helped Mr. Garcia cut down a large tree.
Garcia stated that Mr. Oropeza killed his wife and then chased the gunman. Mr. Garcia managed to escape by using a window and ran outside.
“I thought he was going to follow me,” He said. “But after he couldn’t catch me, he went back to the house to finish them off.”
Mr. Garcia said he went to a family member’s house to hide. He then returned home.
“I came back for my two children,” He said. “They were hiding in the closet. The two women protecting them when they died — they were hugging them.”
According to Carlos Ramirez, Mr. Garcia’s brother, the two women who were killed were shielding a 6-week-old You can also find out more about the boy and A girl aged 3 survived.
Ramiro Guzman, the brother of Mr. Garcia’s wife, said in A phone interview revealed that Mr. Oropeza felt threatened after Mr. Garcia requested him to cease shooting in the vicinity of their home. and Asking his sister to run away.
Ms. Guzman said that she didn’t think Mr. Oropeza was going to hurt the children. and Stay still. She was shot by the gunman seconds later. and quickly moved to the living room where he fatally shot Mr. Guzman’s nephew.
Mr. Guzman claimed he grabbed his spouse quickly and Six-month old baby boy and Hide in As he listened to the gunman shoot his family, he hid in a closet. The police were not available, so the man called his aunt instead. and She was asked to contact law enforcement.
“I could not get a hold of the police,” Mr. Guzman said in tears. “And he was killing my family.”
Robert Freyer, the first assistant district attorney of the criminal district attorney’s office in San Jacinto County said that there were 10 people in Although Mr. Ramirez stated that there are 12,
“Everybody that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution-style,” Sheriff Capers said.
Enrique Reina is the Honduran Foreign Minister. Twitter The Honduran Consulate was in Contact the authorities in Texas and Monitoring the Situation
“We demand that the full weight of the law be applied against those responsible for this crime,” He wrote in Spanish.
Susan Ard, spokeswoman of the Cleveland Independent Schools District, confirmed that the district knew about one victim. in The third-graders who attended Northside elementary school.
“All of our prayers and thoughts are with the families and community impacted by this horrible tragedy,” She said
On Saturday, residents of a rural community dominated by Latino families reported hearing gunfire. in The area had a high frequency of occurrence.
Veronica Pineda (34), said that she didn’t know Mr. Oropeza and His family, but they were living in She has lived in the area for five years. She claimed that they had a reputation for throwing parties until the early hours of the morning.
Guadalupe Calderon is 47 years old and lives in Los Angeles. in The neighborhood said the shooting could’ve happened anywhere, but community members were shocked by the attack.
“We are all neighbors here, and we have to take care of one another,” She said “Only God knows why he did it. Maybe they just didn’t get along.”
Guzman stated that he fled Honduras to avoid violent gangs about five years earlier. and Safety is the first priority and Family members can be contacted by calling (08) 908-0909. in Cleveland.
“We came here to escape violence,” He told me. “and found it in America.”
Neelam BOHRA, Edgar Sandoval and Euan WARD Contributed reporting
