Inside urgent manhunt for armed and dangerous mass shooter still on run
A large manhunt is underway after a devastating shooting slaughtered five people in a deadly massacre.
The man at large is alleged shooter Francisco Oropesa, who is said to have killed five people after a dispute over noise with his neighbour at a home in Cleveland, Texas.
Oropesa, 38, is accused of going into a rage following a complaint from his neighbour, Wilson Garcia, about not waking up his one-month old baby over shootings in his garden.
Mr Garcia said he asked his neighbour to stop shooting so that his one-month-old baby could sleep.
The devastated father threatened to call the police on Oropesa, a Mexican in the country illegally, who is then said to have turned on Mr Garcia's family.
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Mr Garcia's wife, their nine-year-old son and three family friends all died at the property.
The Texas shooting victims. From top right, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, Daniel Enrique Laso, 8, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, with son Daniel and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.Around 250 FBI agents are reported to be on the search for Oropesa but the Bureau recently admitted it has "zero leads" after the trail went cold. Here's everything we know so far.
The shooting and the victims
The shooting occurred on April 29 after Mr Garcia asked Mr Oropesa to stop shooting his gun in his garden so that his young baby could sleep.
Mr Oropesa refused, telling the family 'he could do what he liked his own property.' As the shooting continued, the family called the police and five calls were made in the estimated 10 to 20 minutes between the confrontation and the mass shooting.
Victim Daniel Enrique Laso, 9. (KTRK)Police told Mr Garcia that help was on its way during this period but law enforcement had not arrived when Mr Garcia said he saw Mr Oropesa allegedly running towards them with an AR-15.
An AR-15 assault rifle was later recovered from the scene by police.
The gunman is alleged to have gone "room to room" shooting victims, who were left with wounds "from the neck up."
Sonia Argentina Guzman with her son Daniel, who also died in the shooting.The victims were Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso and family friends Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Josué Jonatán Cáceres, 18, who were in the property at the time.
Reports now indicate little Daniel was nine, not eight.
The husband of Ms Velazquez Alvarado, Jefrey Rivera, said he came face to face with the killer while holding a machete.
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Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia sheds a tear as he talks about his wife and son (AP)In Spanish, Mr Rivera told HCH: "I realised he was coming in our direction while armed with a rifle, so I tried to find something to defend myself with and found a machete.
"But by the time I found the machete, shots had already been fired."
Mr Rivera reportedly said: “I’m going to kill you first because you’ve already killed my family” when the suspect allegedly threatened him.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers became emotional when talking about the youngest victim.
"My heart is with this eight-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," he said.
"Five people died in my county. And that’s where my heart is, in my county protecting my people to the best of my ability."
Julisa Molina Rivera, one of the victims shot dead. (GoFundME)The hero mums
Killed Julisa and Diana are believed to have died protecting two young children in the property as the gunman raged through the house.
The two women died while shielding Mr Garcia’s baby and two-year-old daughter. Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window “because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.”
Sonia was one of two mums found lying on top of two children who survived, police said (elheraldo)Police said the women were found lying on top of two minors; they both survived the shooting.
Heartbreakingly, Mr Garcia said: "I told my wife, ‘Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon... My wife told me to go inside because ‘he won’t fire at me, I’m a woman.’"
Crying, the devastated dad added: "I am trying to be strong for my children. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother."
Oropesa is believed to have fled his home on foot (AP)It was "normal" to hear gunshots on a Friday night, according to local Rene Arevalo Sr.
He said: "It’s a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work. They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there."
Diana, Julisa and Jose were all from Honduras and the country's Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enrique Reina, said efforts to repatriate them are now being made.
Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18 (GoFundME)A GoFundMe was also set up to help repatriate the bodies and for the family of the victims.
The manhunt
(FBIHouston/Twitter)The FBI is currently searching with a 250-strong team and recent reports indicate an initial 20-mile-wide search surrounding the scene of the shooting.
The Bureau previously circulated the wrong image of the suspect and also corrected the way his name is spelt to match current police records.
FBI Special Agent James Smith said: "I can tell you right now, we have zero leads."
Some reports circulated on Saturday that the suspect was surrounded by police, but he was confirmed to still be at large later that day.
Sheriff Capers admitted on Saturday that Mr Oropesa "could be anywhere now".
Capers said that Oropesa is likely to have fled on foot and investigators found clothes and a phone, but tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Corrections lost his scent.
We have approached the FBI Houston team for further comment.
$80,000 and controversy
An $80,000 dollar reward for information that leads to the arrest of Mr Oropesa is now in place.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott put up $50,000, with a further $25,000 pledged by the FBI. Another $5,000 was also added by local law enforcement.
Governor Abbott's statement caused backlash online when he called the victims "illegal immigrants".
The statement read that the suspect was a "top 10 fugitive who is in the country illegally and killed five illegal immigrants in a shooting"
At least one of the victims is known to have been a registered resident of the US.
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