Suspect in killing of five Texas neighbours caught after four-day manhunt

Man is arrested in town of Cut and Shoot, some 27km from scene of mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas

Francisco Oropesa (38), the suspect in the shooting of five people in Texas, has been caught after a four-day search. Photograph: FBI via The New York Times
Francisco Oropesa (38), the suspect in the shooting of five people in Texas, has been caught after a four-day search. Photograph: FBI via The New York Times

US police on Tuesday captured a man suspected of shooting five Texas neighbours to death and leading to a four-day manhunt.

A tip led police to a home in a nearby town where he was caught hiding beneath laundry, officials said.

The victims were killed in the town of Cleveland, Texas, and the suspect was arrested in the town of Cut and Shoot, Texas, roughly 27km (17 miles) due west. Both are about 80km north of Houston.

The violence erupted on Friday after neighbours asked the suspect to stop firing his semiautomatic rifle in his yard because it kept their baby awake.

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Instead, the man reloaded and entered the next-door home of Honduran immigrants, killing five, including an eight-year old boy, officials said.

The suspect had been identified as Francisco Oropesa (38), a Mexican national who immigration officials said had been deported from the United States four times since 2009.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters that officials acted on a tip from an unidentified person who would now be eligible for an $80,000 (€72,575) reward offered for information leading to his arrest.

Most of the victims were shot in the head. All were from Honduras and among the 10 people living at the address but were not all family members, Mr Capers said.

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). – Reuters