As of Sunday, more than 250 law enforcement officers have been deployed to locate the suspect in a mass shooting that took the lives of 5 people in a family home. Francisco Oropesa, 38, is accused of entering the home of his neighbors on Friday and killing 5 of the 10 people present in the home, execution style. The youngest victim was a 9-year-old boy.
As of Saturday, Oropesa slipped past a 2-mile drag net set by law enforcement. His phone and rifle were found but police dogs have lost his scene and there has been little evidence in the way of his whereabouts besides contact with someone on Saturday afternoon.
Witness accounts state that the incident happened when Oropesa was firing a weapon on his property. Apparently, a neighbor, Wilson Garcia, adjacent to Oropesa’s property, walked out to the gate surrounding his own property and asked Oropesa to cease firing his weapon, as they were having a difficult time putting their infant to sleep.
Neighbors in the area said requests of this type were always easily handled; as Oropesa would move to another part of his property to oblige anyone who had a complaint.
Outside of these minor disagreements, Oropesa was described as a hard-working family man. Neighbor Shawn Crawford stated, “He’s always working, training his horse. Never have I seen a fight, argument, raise his voice, anything.”
For whatever reason, the request from Garcia, on Friday, led to Oropesa walking over to the neighbor’s house, entering the home, and opening fire. Of the five people killed, Garcia’s wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, his nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso, and three more residents: Diana Velázquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and José Jonathan Casarez, 18.
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has issued a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Oropesa. More agencies have added to the reward as well, with the FBI pledging another $25,000, adding up to a total of $80,000 in total.
