Authorities say a drunk man slaughtered five people in their south-east Texas home after one of them asked him to stop shooting his rifle outside because a baby was trying to sleep.
Authorities identified the killer as a Mexican national, and the victims, who were all executed by being shot in the head, as Hondurans.
According to police, the bloodshed occurred in Cleveland, Texas, about 45 miles outside of Houston.
According to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, the suspect, Francisco Oropeza, 39, went on a shooting spree shortly before midnight Saturday after one of the Mexican native's alleged victims asked him to stop firing his rifle because a baby in the house was trying to sleep.
A total of 10 people were inside the home at the time of the shooting. The victims ranged in age from 8 to 40 years old.
Witnesses told authorities Oropeza, who lives next door to the victims, had been guzzling booze and shooting rounds in his backyard. His immigration status remained unknown Saturday.
“These people stepped out to ask him to quiet down, and he took offense to that and walked into their house and basically executed them,” Capers told The Post.
Police say Oropeza walked up to his neighbor’s home and began firing an AR-15-style .223 caliber rifle. One victim was found by the doorway leading into the living room. Another was found dead in the living room. Two more women were found shot dead upstairs, their bodies shielding young children who survived and were taken to a hospital, Fox News Digital reported.
Three other victims were injured and taken to the hospital “covered in blood,” according to the Sheriff’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear if the blood belonged to them or the other victims.
“This is the most horrific scene I’ve worked and I’ve been in law enforcement for 41 years,” Capers told The Post.
Oropeza fled, but by around noon Saturday, police said they had him pinned inside a wooded area a little over a mile away from the crime scene, adding they were hopeful he’d soon be in custody.
Authorities believe they found the murder weapon at the crime scene but also uncovered another rifle, shotgun, and pistol belonging to Oropeza at his home. It’s unclear if he was armed when he fled.
A team of dogs, officers on horseback, and an aerial drone were sent by the Texas Department of Corrections to assist with Oropeza’s arrest.
Capers’ office was first dispatched to the victims’ Walters Road home in response to a harassment complaint. As his deputies headed to the scene, the office received numerous calls about a shooter firing multiple shots at the address.
When authorities arrived they found four victims shot dead. A fifth person died at a local hospital.
Police found shell casings in Oropeza’s yard.
Capers said the victims had just moved to the small town of Cleveland from Houston three- to five days earlier. Many didn’t have identification, he said, making it difficult to identify survivors. The five survivors are now staying with relatives in nearby Pasadena, Texas.
Residents in and around the Cleveland, Tex., area were told by police to stay inside and stay clear of the crime scene until the investigation has concluded.
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