Search continues for 38-year old Texas man, who, according to police, shot and killed five people including an eight-year-old after residents of the home where the victims lived reportedly told him to stop firing his gun late on Friday night.
The incident started with a call into the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office around 11:30 p.m., and quickly turned deadly, according to KHOU-TV.
Greg Capers, the sheriff of San Jacinto County said that neighbors asked Francisco Oropesa to stop firing in his yard as a child was trying to fall asleep. Officials reported that neighbors said it was well-known that he shot in his front yard.
Oropesa told neighbors that they could do anything on their own land. The police reported that, shortly after, Oropesa walked into their driveway holding an AR-15. Reporters were told by Capers that there was a total of 10 people in the home at the time.
Honduras was the home of these victims. They ranged in age from 8 to 40. The home was found to have four bodies shot. Two women’s bodies were found on top of three other children who investigators believe the women were trying to protect. Officials said that the children had not been physically injured, but were covered in blood.
A boy aged 8 was fatally shot and taken to hospital. Capers claimed that everyone had been shot in the neck, as if they were being executed.
ABC reported that a judge issued an arrest warrant and that a search is underway by officials including the FBI to find Oropesa.
On Sunday, the FBI’s Houston office tweeted two pictures of who they originally identified as Oropesa. The first was a close-up of the face, with a background in blue. The second was an arm tattoo. By the afternoon they had tweeted to say that they were wrong and the pictures they shared originally did not belong to Oropesa.
“An incorrect image of Francisco Oropesa with a blue backdrop was mistakenly disseminated earlier today. The image has been taken down from FBI accounts on social media. Please refrain from using this image. Oropesa continues to be sought by the law enforcement agencies. #HouNews”
Oropesa, who is believed to have a gun and be dangerous, has been warned by the FBI not to approach him if he appears. San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office 936-653 4367 is the number to call if you have any information regarding his whereabouts.
There is now an $80,000 reward for Oropesa’s capture, the FBI said.