Suspected gunman caught after 5 dead in Texas mass shooting

The alleged shooter is a Mexican national who has been deported four times, according to US immigration officials.

Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested four days after the mass shooting in the Texan town of Cleveland. (Twitter/FBIHouston)

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Authorities near Houston say they have caught a man suspected of killing five of his neighbours, including a 9-year-old boy, with an AR-style rifle after the family confronted him late at night about firing rounds in his yard.

Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested Tuesday, four days after the shooting late Friday in the town of Cleveland, about 72 km north of Houston, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson. Oropeza was arrested without incident, Henderson said.

The sheriff would not say whether Oropeza was armed or how authorities figured out where he was. Police had used drones and scent-tracking dogs during the wide search for Oropeza that included combing a heavily wooded forest a few miles from the scene.

#BREAKING San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers and @FBIHouston announce that Francisco Oropesa has been CAPTURED.
He was arrested this evening at around 6:45 p.m. at a home in Conroe, TX, after the #FBI received an anonymous tip with his location. #ClevelandTXshooting pic.twitter.com/9KySBs09UC

— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) May 3, 2023

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropeza had fled the scene after the attack that also left four adults dead. He said his deputies had been called to the suspect’s house at least one other time previously over shooting rounds in his yard.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who faced backlash over drawing attention to the victims’ immigration status, had offered a $50,000 reward over the weekend for any tips that might lead to the gunman.

Francisco Oropesa could be anywhere. The FBI is working with law enforcement agencies across the state, country and across the border. We’re leaving no stone unturned. If anyone has any photos or security camera video they’d like law enforcement to see, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI pic.twitter.com/0SpHS1ztoY

— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) May 2, 2023

While doing so, the three-term governor described all the victims as “illegal immigrants” — a potentially false statement that his office walked back and apologised for Monday. More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the US Marshals, were part of a growing search.

The alleged shooter is a Mexican national who has been deported four times, according to US immigration officials. The gunman was first deported in March 2009 and last in July 2016. He was also deported in September 2009 and January 2012.

The victims were identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

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