Massive manhunt underway for gunman accused of killing five people, including child
CLEVELAND, Texas (CNN)- The manhunt for Francisco Oropesa, the 38-year-old accused of killing five people, including a nine-year-old child, at a home in the Houston area, has entered its third day. More than 250 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are involved in the search and are going door to door asking for information in the community.
According to James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge, authorities do not have any tips on Oropesa’s whereabouts, and they are pleading for the public’s help. “Right now, we just don’t know because if we did, we would have him in custody right now,” Smith said.
The shooting occurred after Wilson Garcia and two other men walked over to Oropesa’s yard and asked him to stop shooting so close to their home because their baby was sleeping. They even requested Oropesa to shoot on the other side of his property. However, the gunman later came to Garcia’s home, shooting his wife, three other adults, and his nine-year-old son.
Garcia, who lost his wife and child in the shooting, said that one of the victims saw when his wife fell to the ground and told him to throw himself out the window because his children were already without a mother, so one of them had to stay alive to take care of them.
Fifteen people were inside the home when the shooting erupted, and ten of them survived, including Garcia’s two other children. Authorities believe two women died while using their bodies to shield the children who survived.
Sheriff Greg Capers of San Jacinto County, where the shooting took place, expressed his sadness at how everything unfolded. “My heart is with this 8-year-old little boy. I don’t care if he was here legally, I don’t care if he was here illegally. He was in my county, five people died in my county, and that is where my heart is,” Capers said.
Authorities are now offering a collective $80,000 reward for any information that leads to Oropesa’s arrest.
