‘Zero Clues’ Slows Down Texas Shooter Hunt
cleveland – Expanding Manhunt Texas gunman who killed five neighbors A policeman knocked on the door, the governor put out a $50,000 bounty, and the FBI, after nearly two days of searching with a team that had grown to hundreds, was unable to catch the killer.
FBI Special Agent James Smith told reporters, asking for clues from the public again in rural Cleveland, where the shooting occurred just before midnight on Friday, “I can tell you now that there are no clues. It’s zero,” he said.
The search for the shooter near Houston is expanding: By Sunday evening, officials said more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions were searching for Francisco Oropeza.38- older suspect. Local officials and his FBI also paid a bounty, totaling $80,000 for information on Oropeza’s whereabouts.
Oropeza is believed to be armed and dangerous after fleeing the area on Friday night, possibly on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities expanded the search beyond the scene of the shooting.
At a Sunday rally in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of his one-month-old son, said friends and family had fled himself and the children after Oropeza approached his home that night. , described terrifying efforts to hide and defend themselves. opened fire and killed his wife at the front door first.
Garcia’s other child, nine-year-old Daniel Enrique Raso, was also killed. Garcia and the other two men went to “politely” ask Oropeza to shoot away from home.
Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It wasn’t until 10 to 20 minutes later that he said he saw Oropeza loading an AR-style rifle as he ran home.
“I said to my wife, ‘Come in.’ This man loaded his weapon,” Garcia said. “My wife said, ‘He won’t shoot me. I’m a woman.'”
Authorities said at least five other people in the home at the time were unharmed.
Earlier in the search, investigators found clothes and a phone as they combed through an area that included dense layers of forest, but the tracking dog had lost its sense of smell, Capers said.
Authorities were able to identify Oropeza from ID cards issued by Mexican authorities to citizens living abroad and doorbell camera footage. He also said police interviewed the suspect’s wife multiple times.
Police recovered an AR-15 style rifle that Oropeza said he used in the shooting. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza had another weapon after other weapons were found in Oropeza’s home.
Capers said he hopes the bounty will motivate people to stay informed, and plans to put up signs in Spanish to spread the word.
“We are looking for closure for this family,” Capers said.
By Sunday, police crime scene tape had been removed from around the victim’s home, and some stopped by to leave flowers.
In the neighborhood, FBI agents, Texas Department of Public Safety officers, and other officers were seen going door-to-door, with one officer stopping a red truck and driving the driver inside before continuing. I asked to see
Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspect, asked if authorities could search her property to see if the suspect could be hiding there. She said she fears the shooter has not yet been caught.
“I’m kind of scared,” she said.
Pineda does not know Oropeza very well, but said he occasionally saw Oropeza, his wife and son riding horses. She said her family had lived there for about five or six years and neighbors had called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns. rice field.
Authorities said the victims ranged in age from nine to 31 and were all believed to have been shot above the neck. All were believed to be from Honduras.
Enrique Reyna, Honduran’s secretary for foreign affairs and international cooperation, said on Twitter that the Honduran Consulate in Houston has been in touch with the families and US authorities in connection with the repatriation of the remains and kept them informed of the investigation.
The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it called the suspect Oropesa instead of Oropesa “to better reflect his identity in the law enforcement system.” His family is named as Oropeza on signs outside the garden and on public records. Authorities had previously said Garcia’s son was 8 years old, but his father and school officials said on Sunday his junior year was 9.
A total of three children found bloodied in their home were taken to hospital but were found unharmed.
FBI spokeswoman Christina Garza said investigators did not believe those in the home were members of a single family.In addition to the boy, the other victim was 25-year-old Sonia. Identified as Argentinian Guzman. Diana Velázquez Alvarado, 21 years old. Julisa Molina Rivera, 31 years old. Jose Jonathan Casares, 18 years old.
Garcia said he called the police five times after asking Oropeza to shoot him from a distance and before the attacker broke into his home. Police arrived on the scene as soon as possible, Capers said, with three officers covering his 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).
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An earlier version of this article, based on information from the FBI, incorrectly listed Daniel Enrique Laso’s age as 8 years old. His father said the boy was nine years old.
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Susan Haig, an AP writer from Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report.
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https://www.local10.com/news/world/2023/04/30/police-manhunt-continues-for-suspect-in-texas-mass-shooting/ ‘Zero Clues’ Slows Down Texas Shooter Hunt