Francisco Oropeza, 38, is still a fugitive after the massacre of a Honduran family in Texas, but the subject already had a history of violence, the police had even gone to his home before.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said his deputies had been to Oropeza’s home at least once, who had already been reported for firing his gun in the home’s backyard.
Capers did not provide further details, but acknowledged that firing a weapon in a property’s yard is illegal. It is not clear if he admonished Oropeza.
Rene Arevalo lives a few houses from where Oropeza killed five members of a family and said that the shooter was a constant problem in the neighborhood, even threatening to kill his dog, which got loose in the neighborhood.
“I tell my wife all the time, ‘Stay away from the neighbors. Don’t argue with them. You never know how they’re going to react,’” Arevalo said.
He added that anyone in Texas can carry a gun and you don’t know how that person will react.
The neighbor says that it is common for people to drink on Fridays in their backyards and start shooting.
“It’s a normal thing that people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,” the neighbor told The Associated Press.
On Friday night, five people from a family of 10 Hondurans, including an 8-year-old boy, in a house in Cleveland, near Houston, were shot by Oropeza, after asking him to stop shooting his AR-15, because it they wanted to put one of the babies to sleep.
Sheriff Capers said the victims had only been living in the neighborhood for a few days, where they did not plan to stay.
Oropeza is still a fugitive and the authorities indicate that he could be “anywhere.”
Keep reading:
• They identify the five Honduran victims after a shooting in Texas while the main suspect remains a fugitive
• Joe Biden was informed of the shooting in Texas, where five Hondurans died, according to a senior official
• Texas authorities set $5 million bail for Hispanic accused of killing five Honduran neighbors from their backyard