Illegal immigrant accused of killing Texas family was deported 5 times
Lt. Chris Olivarez discusses manhunt for illegal immigrant accused of killing family and preparations for the end of title 42.
A Mexican national – reported to be an illegal immigrant – wanted for the Texas shooting of five neighbors including a young boy, remained at large Monday morning.
More than 48 hours after the massacre in Cleveland, Texas, outside Houston, authorities are offering an $80,000 reward for information that leads to the capture of Francisco Oropesa.
Neighbors had allegedly asked Oropesa to stop firing his rifle in his yard late Friday so that a baby could sleep. The 38-year-old suspect, who authorities identified from video at the scene and by a Mexican consulate card, then entered the neighboring home and opened fire on five of the 10 people inside, allegedly killing the victims execution-style.
FBI Houston, which has taken over updates from the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, said Sunday evening that more than 250 law enforcement officers from over a dozen agencies were actively searching for Oropesa.
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FBI Houston released the newest images of Francisco Oropesa and a prominent tattoo on his left forearm. Going forward, FBI said the subject's last name will be spelled "Oropesa" to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems. (FBI Houston)
"FBI Houston and other local, state, & federal agencies will not stop assisting SJSO until he is captured and justice is brought on behalf of the five victims," they said.
FBI Special Agent in Charge James Smith announced Sunday an additional $25,000 FBI reward in connection with the investigation.
That increased the total reward amount to $80,000, up from the combined $55,000 being offered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office and multi-county crime stoppers.
"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. In my county, protecting my people to the best of our ability," San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters in an update Sunday afternoon.
Capers said that he was supposed to escort the widow of a constable who died about a year ago to a Texas police officers' memorial Sunday night but explained to her why he could not.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, left, wipes his eye as FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith speaks during a news conference, Sunday, April 30, 2023 in Cleveland, Texas. The search for suspect Francisco Oropesa is ongoing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
"My main intent and focus is 100% on capturing this suspect," Capers said. The sheriff also said he would not be at the vigil for the slain boy held at Northside Elementary in Cleveland. "Once again, I would love to be there, but I'm going to be here looking, searching for the suspect," Capers added.
Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of Oropesa is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI with tips.
Young boys play outside their home as law enforcement continues to investigate the Cleveland, Texas, neighborhood Sunday, April 30, 2023, where a mass shooting left five people, including a child, dead two nights before. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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"We're asking everyone for your help so we can bring this suspect – or this monster, I will call him – to justice," Smith said at the same press conference Sunday. "Right now we just don't know because if we did we would have him in custody. We do not know where he is. We do not have any tips right now where he may be."
"I can pretty much guarantee you, he's contacted some of his friends. We just don't know which friends they are," Smith added. "That's what we need from the public, any type of information, because right now we're just – we're running into dead ends."
Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia becomes emotional during a vigil for his son, Daniel Enrique Laso, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Capers told reporters that two women were found lying on top of and trying to protect three surviving children inside the home Friday night. The three children were loaded into an ambulance and brought to a hospital, where it was discovered they had not been physically injured. Four adults were found deceased at the scene: Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18. Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, age 8 or 9, was airlifted to a hospital, where he was declared deceased.
Another survivor, Wilson Garcia, whose wife Sonia and third-grade son were murdered, spoke to reporters at a vigil hosted Sunday afternoon at the school the boy had attended.
"My wife died, and my 9-year-old son died," Garcia said in Spanish. "What can I say, I am trying to stay strong for my children. My daughter kind of gets, understands things. It's hard when she comes to me and starts asking for her mom and her brother."
Wilson Garcia, center, holds a young girl during a vigil at Northside Elementary for his son Daniel Enrique Laso, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Garcia said another woman in the house told him to save himself.
"She told me to throw myself out of a window because my children were already without a mother," he said.
The deceased victims are said to have been from Honduras, according to local reports.
A source with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News that Oropesa has been previously deported, has "multiple" illegal re-entries on his record, and was last encountered by ICE in 2016. A second source, within the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News that Oropesa had been deported five times between 2009-2016.
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Oropesa was previously ordered removed by an immigration judge on March 16, 2009, and subsequently removed by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston to Mexico on March 17, 2009, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News. At an unknown time and location, Oropesa unlawfully reentered the United States, and was apprehended and removed several more times by ICE ERO in September 2009, January 2012, and July 2016.
Oropesa, who sometimes uses the additional hyphenated surname Perez-Torres, has also been previously convicted in Montgomery County, Texas, of driving while intoxicated in January 2012, and sentenced to serve time in jail, the spokesperson said. As a result of the April 29 incident, the Cold Spring Texas Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Oropesa for homicide. He is wanted by the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office in connection to the suspected shooter incident in Cleveland, Texas.
Fox News's Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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