- Texas authorities found that the suspect in the shooting that killed five people in San Jacinto County was deported from the US four times since 2009
- The incident resulted from an altercation between the suspect and his neighbors
- The suspect refused to stop practicing shooting his rifle in the area when asked by his neighbors
Texas authorities found that the suspect in the shooting in San Jacinto County was deported four times from the United States since 2009 before the recent horrific mass killing.
The man, identified as Francisco Oropesa, killed five of his neighbors, including a child, after he argued with them regarding his practice shooting with his semi-automatic weapon in the area.
Texas Shooting Suspect Deported Four Times
One resident in the area, Wilson Garcia, said that he and his wife initially called law enforcement on Friday night when Oropesa refused to stop shooting his gun outside and even threatened them.
However, as assistance did not arrive, the suspect turned up at the couple's house, occupied by several members of their extended family from Honduras. As per NBC News, Oropesa had a rifle and began shooting at the people inside the home.
A family member, Ramiro Guzman, said that Oropesa hid in a closet with his wife and infant son when he began shooting his rifle. He immediately called 911 several times, where a dispatcher said that deputies were already in the area, but they were not.
He said the dispatcher would cut off the call, forcing him to call again, only to be cut off once more. In an interview, Guzman said that he called his aunt, who lived only two blocks away, to try calling 911 if they would answer her phone.
But when San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, five people, including Garcia's wife and nine-year-old son, were already fatally wounded. Furthermore, Oropesa had already fled the scene of the crime.
No Leads on Suspect's Whereabouts
Authorities are offering an $80,000 reward for any information that could lead to the whereabouts of the 38-year-old Mexican national. According to BBC, Texas officials said that the search for Oropesa was ongoing and warned residents that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
In a statement, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers revealed that they found at least three weapons inside Oropesa's home. FBI special agent James Smith added that they had zero leads in the investigation.
Following the horrific shooting, more than 150 officers gathered in a wooded area near the crime scene to search where the suspect was thought to have fled on foot to find any evidence of his escape, where they found clothes and a phone.
The Mexican national's history of deportation began on Mar. 17, 2009, when an immigration judge ordered his removal. Later, he unlawfully returned to the United States and was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and subsequently deported in September of that same year, January 2012, and July 2016, said ABC News.
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