Neighbors had asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep, officials said.
CLEVELAND, Texas — Authorities on Monday still had not captured a gunman in Texas who killed five neighbors, and as the search dragged into a third day with false alarms and few apparent leads, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott faced backlash over drawing attention to the victims’ immigration status.
“We’ve since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally,” Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze said in a statement. “We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal.” More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, are now part of a growing search that has come up empty despite additional manpower, scent-tracking dogs and a total of $80,000 in reward money on the table. On Monday, a heavy presence of police converged in an area where the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reported a possible sighting, but later said none of the persons were found to be Oropeza.
At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.
The official said the gunman was first deported in March 2009 and last in July 2016. He was also deported in September 2009 and January 2012.
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Few leads, false alarm as search for Texas gunman drags onAuthorities on Monday still had not captured a gunman in Texas who killed five neighbors, and as the search dragged into a third day with false alarms and few apparent leads, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott came under backlash over drawing attention to the victims' immigration status. An FBI agent on the scene near Houston acknowledged they have little to go on in the widening manhunt for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, who has been deported four times since 2009, but who neighbors say lived on their street for years prior to Friday night's shooting. Abbott offered a $50,000 reward over the weekend for any tips that might lead to Oropeza, and while doing so, the three-term governor described all the victims as “illegal immigrants' — a potentially false statement that his office walked back and apologized for Monday.
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Few leads as search for Texas gunman who killed five neighbors drags onAuthorities on Monday still had not captured a gunman in Texas who killed five neighbors, and as the search dragged into a third day with false alarms and few apparent leads, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott came under backlash over drawing attention to the victims’ immigration status.
Read more »
Deputies warned Francisco Oropeza, Texas mass shooting suspect, about shooting from his yardFrancisco Oropeza, 38, has been on the run since being accused of retaliating after his neighbors asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.
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Deputies warned Francisco Oropeza, Texas mass shooting suspect, about shooting from his yardFrancisco Oropeza, 38, has been on the run since being accused of retaliating after his neighbors asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.
Read more »
Deputies warned Francisco Oropeza, Texas mass shooting suspect, about shooting from his yardFrancisco Oropeza, 38, has been on the run since being accused of retaliating after his neighbors asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.
Read more »