appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

A man accused of massacring five neighbours after they asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard was captured Tuesday after a days-long manhunt, Texas law enforcement said.
Francisco Oropesa had eluded authorities since the shooting Friday in the small town of Cleveland in southeastern Texas.
“We now have this man in custody,” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters at a press conference Tuesday night.
“He was caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry.”

The 38-year-old Mexican national is accused of attacking his neighbours after they allegedly asked him to stop shooting his semi-automatic AR-15 rifle because the noise was keeping a baby awake.
The victims were between the ages of nine and 31, with several other residents in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds.
Capers said the surviving family members could “rest easy” now that Oropesa was behind bars.
Authorities deployed hundreds of law enforcement officers to look for the suspect and offered an US$80,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
White man, 84, charged for shooting black teen who went to wrong house
FBI special agent Jimmy Paul told reporters Tuesday night that a call to the bureau’s tip line ultimately led law enforcement to Oropesa, who was arrested north of Houston at around 6.45pm local time.
“I just want to thank the person who had the courage and bravery to call in the suspect’s location,” he said.
Capers had previously described a horrifying scene when authorities arrived at the victims’ residence after receiving a call about “harassment” at around 11.30pm Friday.
Bodies were strewn from the front door to an inside bedroom, where two deceased women were found lying on top of two traumatised children who survived the massacre.

Friday’s attack quickly became fodder for America’s acrimonious debate on immigration.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott drew criticism after referring to the suspect as having “killed five illegal immigrants”, though their immigration status was not immediately clear and Abbott later said at least one victim “may have been in the US legally”.
The victims were all originally from Honduras.
Oropesa had been deported from the United States at least four times since 2009, according to CNN.
The Texas killings appeared to be the latest in a series of US shootings spawned by normally banal interactions: a teenager mistakenly knocking on the wrong door, a cheerleader accidentally stepping into the wrong car, someone driving into the wrong driveway, a ball rolling into a neighbour’s yard.
With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun-related deaths of any developed country: 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.


US Secret Service fatally shoots gunman who opened fire outside White House

ICE agent charged over shooting of Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota

3 killed in San Diego mosque shooting; teen suspects found dead in car after attack

Lawsuit blames OpenAI for ChatGPT helping plan Florida mass shooting

Gun violence in the US

Suspect in Texas neighbour slayings caught hiding under laundry after days-long manhunt

A wanted sign for the mass shooting suspect in Cleveland, Texas. Photo: AP

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers announces the capture and arrest of Francisco Oropesa. Photo: Reuters

A warning sign outside the home where the mass shooting occurred, in Cleveland, Texas. Photo: AP

Man kills 5 in Texas, including child, after neighbours complained about gunfire

The scene of a mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, US early on Saturday. Photo: KTRK via AP

Police respond to the scene of a shooting early on Saturday in Cleveland, Texas. Photo: KTRK via AP

Investigators work the scene of a fatal shooting in Philadelphia, Friday, April 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Texas cheerleaders shot after one says she got in wrong car

Texas cheerleader Payton Washington, 18, is in critical condition after being shot in the leg and back. Photo: GoFundMe

White man, 84, charged for shooting black teen Ralph Yarl who went to wrong house

Ralph Yarl, a teenager who plays several instruments in Kansas City’s Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, was shot by a homeowner in Missouri. Photo: Ben Crump Law via AP

Protesters march in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, to bring attention to the shooting of Ralph Yarl. Photo: The Kansas City Star via AP

Andrew Lester, 84, was charged with first-degree assault. Photo: Kansas City Police Department

Four dead, 28 injured in Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party shooting

A bloody handprint marks a pillar after a shooting during a teenager’s birthday party at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in Dadeville, Alabama. Photo: Reuters

Investigators block the scene of the shooting. Photo: AFP

Mourners attend a vigil after a mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama. Photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

Suspect Francisco Oropesa, 38, was found by police hiding in a closet after four-day manhunt in Texas
Oropesa has been accused of killing neighbours who asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard


Francisco Oropesa had eluded authorities since the shooting on Friday of neighbours who asked him to stop firing his rifle in his yard.


United States

Crime