CLEVELAND, Texas — Five people, including a child, were killed during a shooting at a home in southeast Texas Friday night, authorities said. Authorities responded to the shooting at about 11:30 p. m.
in the Trails End area of Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston. The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office told our sister station, ABC13 Eyewitness News, that the call came in about harassment at a home near Walters Road and Seth Boulevard. When deputies arrived, they said they found several people shot.
Investigators said all of the victims are from Honduras. Investigators said they believe the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza , was intoxicated and began shooting an AR-15 outside on his front porch. That’s when neighbors asked Oropeza to be quiet because they had a baby who was trying to sleep, according to deputies.
The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, according to Sheriff Greg Capers, and that one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle. The sheriff told Eyewitness News that five victims, including an 8-year-old, were shot from the neck up, “almost execution style. ” The victims have been identified as 25-year-old Sonia Argentina Guzman, 21-year-old Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 31-year-old Julisa Molina Rivera, 18-year-old Jose Jonathan Casarez and 8-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, authorities said during a press conference.
Cleveland Independent School District confirmed that one of the victims was a student, and said counseling will be available for staff and students over the weekend. “Cleveland Independent School District is heartbroken learning the news concerning the death of one of our students. At this time, we cannot elaborate with information due to the ongoing investigation of the horrendous tragedy,” the school district said in a statement.
Capers said there were 10 people in the house and that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims, all believed to be from Honduras, were found lying over two children inside. “When we got here, the two females in the bedroom were laying on top of two of three younger (surviving) children,” Capers said.
One of the victims was taken to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Three other people went to the hospital covered in blood, but authorities said they were not physically injured. Capers said some of those in the house had just moved from Houston earlier in the week, but he did not know whether they were planning to stay there.
Deputies describe Oropeza as a Hispanic man who is 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt, and work boots. Investigators said he has a goatee and short black hair.
A judge has issued an arrest warrant for Oropeza and assigned a $5 million bond. Authorities believe Oropeza left by walking or on a bicycle and is currently within a two-mile radius of the scene. SkyEye was at the scene, where authorities could be seen investigating.
At about 1:30 p. m. , investigators told Eyewitness News that law enforcement made contact with the suspect by phone.
WATCH: SkyEye video shows authorities searching for mass shooting suspect in Cleveland, TX The FBI said in a tweet that they are “assisting the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office in the search for the suspect. ” Across the U. S.
since Jan. 1, there have been at least 18 shootings that left four or more people dead, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today, in partnership with Northeastern University. The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence; gang retaliation; school shootings and workplace vendettas.
Texas has confronted multiple mass shootings in recent years, including last year’s attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde ; a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019; and a gunman opening fire at a church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs in 2017. Republican leaders in Texas have rejected calls for new firearm restrictions, including this year over the protests of several families whose children were killed in Uvalde. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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From: abc7
URL: https://abc7news.com/mass-shooting-texas-5-people-killed-cleveland/13195075/