30 April 2023 , 12:17
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The suspected mass shooter who killed five has slipped through the fingers of police despite being "cornered".
His escape comes as the five members of the same household including a mum and son, murdered in "execution style" killings have been named and pictured for the first time.
Police have identified the suspect as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, a neighbour of the five victims, and a massive manhunt has been launched to find him.
The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8.
It is believed the incident started when one of the victims went to Oropeza's home near the town of Cleveland in San Jacinto County, Texas, to ask him to stop firing his gun so their baby could sleep.
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Mum Sonia Guzmán died protecting her children during the massacre (elheraldo)The suspect responded by allegedly going to their house with an AR-15 and massacring them shortly after 11.30pm on Friday night.
The confrontation followed family members walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.
Two female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities have said. The children were rescued from the scene covered in blood but uninjured.
The FBI and Homeland Security were brought in to help the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office with the search. Sheriff Capers said there are between 50-75 officers searching with dogs and horses.
Law enforcement authorities removing bodies from the home where the massacre was carried out (AP)Despite tracking him to a wooded area, Sheriff Capers later said the suspect was no longer “cornered.”
Investigators recovered a rifle they believe he used in the mass shooting and they also tell us they found his cell phone, reports KHOU.
Before Oropeza manged to slip past the net of law enforcement following him, Sheriff Capers said: "I feel good about it. If it gets into the darkness we do have a lot of police there that are aggressively looking for this gentleman. We do have a very good perimeter setup."
The five victims killed (HCH)As night fell after the first day of the massive manhunt, investigators in San Jacinto County said their dogs had picked up his scent but later lost it.
Members of the public have been asked to look out for Oropeza but are warned not to approach him as he is considered armed and dangerous.
One of the victims, Sonia Guzman, was the mum of victim Daniel Enrique Laso, reports Honduras paper El Heraldo.
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A loved one is consoled at the scene of the shooting (AP)The victims all lived in the same house with some moving there from Houston just earlier in the week. There were ten people in the home when the massacred, police have revealed.
A couple and their baby were saved by hiding in a closet with Diana's husband confronting the murderer with a machete to prevent him entering the room where the others cowered, the paper reported.
According to Sheriff Greg Capers all victims were found shot "execution style" inside the family home.
This comes as grim new information has come to light about the suspect including from one neighbour who claimed Oropeza had threatened to kill his dog and even chased it in a truck.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers speaks to reporters (Getty Images)Capers said his deputies had been to Oropeza’s home at least once before and spoken with him about “shooting his gun in the yard.” It was not clear whether any action was taken at the time.
At a news conference Saturday evening, the sheriff said firing a gun on your own property can be illegal, but he did not say whether Oropeza had previously broken the law.
Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but didn’t think anything of it.
Devastated family members went to the scene as news of the killings spread (AP)“It’s a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,” Mr Arevalo said. “They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.”
A few months ago, Mr Arevalo said Oropeza threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighbourhood and chased the pit bull in his truck.
The incident started out as a harassment call to 911 just after 11.30pm on Friday night.
The confrontation followed family members walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said.
A helicopter flies over a location where law enforcement believed they had 'cornered' him (AP)A statement from James Smith, Special Agent in Charge at FBI Houston, read: "A FBI Houston and our Bryan Resident Agency are providing tactical, investigative, and victim service resources to assist the San Jacinto Sheriff's Office with the Cleveland, Texas, Shooting. We will be here until Francisco Oropeza is captured."
Enrique Reina, the foreign minister of Honduras, said the Honduran consulate had been in communication with authorities in Texas.
“We demand that the full weight of the law be applied against the person responsible for this crime,” he wrote on Twitter.
A statement online from FBI Houston read: "Francisco Oropeza, 38. If you see him, please DO NOT approach him. He is considered armed and dangerous. If you have a tip related to the shooting or Oropeza's whereabouts please call the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office at 936-653-4367. "