39-year-old Francisco Oropesa the Mexican man police and the FBI are pursuing in connection to a shooting Friday night in Cleveland, Texas that left an eight-year-old boy and four adults dead, was here in the US illegally.
Fox News reports that according to ICE, Oropesa has been deported in the past but has illegally re-entered the US multiple times. The agency said they last encountered Oropesa in 2016.
FBI Houston Special agent in charge James Smith and San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said in a Sunday press conference that there was an $80,000 reward for Oropesa. The members of the family who were murdered were also in the US illegally.
Agent Smith said, "We do not know where he is, that's why we’ve come up with this reward."
Smith also said they had "zero leads."
Sheriff Capers said, "My main intent and focus is 100 percent on capturing this suspect."
Governor Greg Abbott announced the award for the suspect.
Oropesa allegedly opened fire on the family after they asked him to stop shooting a rifle in his yard at 11:30 pm at night. The family members were reportedly shot "execution style," according to local news.
ABC News reports that San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said, "My understanding is that the victims, they came over to the fence and said 'Hey could you not do your shooting out in the yard? We have a young baby that's trying to go to sleep." Oropeza was reportedly drunk and told the family, "I'll do what I want to in my front yard."
The incident happened in the city of Cleveland, Texas, located approximately 45 miles north of Houston.
When police arrived at the household of the victims, a family of ten total, four adults were already dead from gunshot wounds and the fifth, the 8-year-old boy, was moved to a local hospital but died shortly thereafter.
According to the Daily Mail, the family was from Honduras and the victims ranged in age from 8 to 40. Two female victims were found dead and covered in blood in the bedroom of their home, laying on top of and shielding two surviving children.
Another man was found dead in the living room and it is unclear where the 8-year-old boy was found.
