Local law enforcement agencies and the FBI are offering an $80,000 reward for anyone with any tips that help find the suspect in the killing of an 8-year-old boy and four other people inside their home in Cleveland, Texas.
The authorities acknowledged this Sunday that they have no clue to his whereabouts and asked for help from the community to find the fugitive:
Francisco Oropesa, 38 years old and Mexican nationality
, whom they consider armed and dangerous.
"We're running into dead ends. Right now we have zero leads," James Smith, an agent with the FBI's Houston office, told a news conference.
[5 Hondurans die in a shooting at a house in Texas, including an 8-year-old boy]
"We ask everyone for your help so that we can bring this suspect, or this monster as I would call it, to justice," Smith told reporters.
More than
200 officers from different police agencies
are searching for Oropesa, reported the
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.
"Finding him is my number one priority. We are seeking closure for this family," he said.
A bag of 80,000 dollars
As reported by Capers, the governor of Texas has offered $50,000 for information leading to Oropesa's capture, while Montgomery, San Jacinto and Liberty counties have put up $5,000 each.
The FBI, for its part,
put up $25,000 for a total reward of $80,000
.
"If anyone, whether they are here in this county (San Jacinto), in the state of Texas or anywhere in the country, has any leads, we ask that they call 1-800 FBI TIPS. This line will be available 24/ 7 if anyone has any information that could lead to the arrest of this subject," said Officer James Smith.
[Kills man posing as parking attendant]
The shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. (local time) on Friday, after family members approached the fence and asked the suspect to stop firing bullets in their yard because they were trying to sleep.
Oropesa, who was apparently drunk, responded by telling them that he was on his property.
Then, he took an AR-15 style rifle and went to the house of his neighbors, all Honduran, took advantage of the fact that the door was open and entered shooting, killing five people.
"Everyone who was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution style," the sheriff said.
The house where the massacre that left five Hondurans dead occurred in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday, April 28.
David J. Phillip/AP
The victims were identified as:
Sonia Argentina Guzmán,
25 years old;
Diana Velazquez Alvarado,
21;
Julisa Molina Rivera,
31;
Jose Jonathan Casarez,
18;
and
Daniel Enrique Laso,
8.
Three children survived the massacre because
they were protected by several of the women who died
.
"When we rescued them they were covered in the blood of these women," Sheriff Capers said.
[Florida approves lowering the minimum age to purchase rifles]
The children were taken to the hospital and "are safe with family," Capers said.
For this Sunday at 4:30 pm (local time), Cleveland residents have organized a vigil in honor of the murdered boy,
Daniel Enrique Laso,
who studied at North Side Elementary School, Capers reported.
Few traces of the suspect
On Saturday, authorities found an abandoned cell phone and several items of the suspect's clothing lying around.
A shooting leaves at least five Latinos dead in Texas, including an eight-year-old boy
April 29, 202302:53
Authorities identified Oropesa through an identity document issued by Mexican authorities to citizens residing outside the country, as well as recordings from his doorbell camera.
They have also questioned the suspect's wife "two or three times," the sheriff said.
Capers said his office is making billboards with the bounty information in Spanish, waiting for someone to offer useful information leading to Oropesa's capture.
[A white woman posted a video online denouncing that a Latino couple tried to kidnap her children. She now she can go to jail]
James Smith of the FBI acknowledged that as the hours go by "it becomes more difficult" to search for the suspect.
"I can guarantee that he (Oropesa) has contacted some of his friends, but we don't know who those friends are. We need any kind of information from the public," Smith said.
Francisco Oropesa is 5'8”, has short black hair
, and was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, and work boots when he was last seen.
