A man accused of killing five neighbors after they asked him to stop shooting an AR-15-style weapon near their Texas yard was arrested Tuesday evening after a four-day manhunt that at one point involved more than 250 law enforcement officers.
The lead for Oropesa’s location, officials said, came from a tip on the FBI hotline at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. The suspect was arrested by a team from the U.S. Marshals, U.S. Border Patrol’s tactical unit and the Texas Department of Public Safety at 6:30 p.m.
Oropesa was “caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry,” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said at a briefing Tuesday evening. “He is behind bars and will live out his life behind bars,” he said.
Even as agencies lauded the arrest, the news brought little consolation for the family of the victims.
“He took everything from us, and now we’re living a nightmare from which we’ll never wake up,” said Lucía Guzmán, aunt of one of the victims. “The arrest will never erase what he did to my family, but at least now we can hope for some justice.”
The wide-ranging search raised questions about some aspects of the early investigation, including an allegation by the victims’ family that deputies were slow to respond, the FBI initially identifying the wrong man as the suspect and the real suspect possessing at least five guns despite being an undocumented immigrant. Residents near the San Jacinto County massacre scene also expressed concerns about how sheriff’s deputies handled previous reports that Oropesa was shooting in his yard.
Law enforcement officers initially believed that they had cornered Oropesa after he allegedly fled Friday night from the home where several members of an extended family of Honduran immigrants lay dead. Search dogs later lost his scent, and the FBI’s Houston office later said he “could be anywhere.”
Officials said early in the search that they had found Oropesa’s cellphone, articles of clothing and the gun they believed was used in the shooting — but they were unsure whether he had another weapon with him and were treating him as if he were “armed and dangerous.” He was eventually apprehended without incident.
The violence began after Sonia Guzmán called 911 on Friday about 11 p.m. to complain that Oropesa was firing his weapon near their home, her brother Ramiro Guzmán said. Then, he said, four men in the house asked Oropesa directly to move farther away from their front yard.
Minutes later, Oropesa allegedly walked into the neighbors’ home and opened fire. Family members repeatedly called 911 and each time were told that deputies were already on the scene, Ramiro Guzmán recalled.
“Then why is he killing my family now?” he said he implored the dispatchers. The 16 people inside the house, including eight children, scrambled to find shelter even as some were shot. He hid inside a closet with his 6-month-old baby and wife.
By the time police arrived, four adults were dead, including Sonia Guzmán. Nine-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso was writhing in pain, Ramiro Guzmán said, and died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
The dead were: Sonia Guzmán, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.
Authorities initially released an incorrect photo of the suspect and spelling of his name, thrusting a Fort Worth man into the spotlight, whose family said he received threats.
Oropesa had previously been deported from the United States four times, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.