The suspect in the shooting in the exurbs of Houston that killed five people has been captured after a days-long manhunt, reported NBC News on Tuesday.
"A person believed to be Francisco Oropesa, 38, was arrested in the city of Cut and Shoot, Texas, San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said," said the report. "Authorities are awaiting fingerprints to confirm the person arrested is Oropesa, Dillon said. He has been taken to the Montgomery County Jail and is charged with first-degree murder, he said. The FBI said it was planning a news conference Tuesday evening about the case."
"If confirmed to be Oropesa, the arrest brings an end to the sprawling search that involved more than 250 law enforcement officers, the FBI and a reward of $80,000 for information," said the report. "The arrest comes four days after the Friday night carnage in which Oropesa went to the home in the Trails End area in Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston, and opened fire, the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office said."
According to earlier reports, Oropesa had been firing an AR-15 style weapon in his yard, when a neighbor asked him to stop shooting because he was disturbing an infant attempting to sleep. Oropesa allegedly responded by turning his gun on the house, killing five people, including a 9-year-old.
MSNBC reported that the entire community was on edge after Oropesa, who was apparently on good terms with his neighbors until the incident, was on the loose, with some taking to carrying firearms themselves for protection.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sparked outrage when he referred to the victims as "illegal immigrants" in a statement. At least one of the victims, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, was in fact a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
