Wilson Garcia said he asked his neighbor, who was shooting a gun in his yard late Friday night, to shoot farther away because Garcia’s 1-month-old son was sleeping. Garcia said he called police when the man refused. The family made four more calls, according to The Associated Press.
“I told my wife: ‘Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,’” Garcia said. “My wife told me to go inside because ‘he won’t fire at me, I’m a woman.’”
Garcia’s wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was the first person shot. Garcia’s 9-year-old son also was killed. Garcia said more than a dozen people were in his home at the time and that two women died protecting his infant and 2-year-old daughter, neither of whom was injured.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers explained the delayed police response in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston, saying he had only three officers covering 700 square miles. When police arrived, they found a horrifying scene.
“Everybody that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution style,” Capers said.
The suspect, Francisco Oropeza, who has been deported four times since 2009, had been drinking before the shooting, Capers said.
Oropeza, 38, remained at large Monday despite a search involving more than 250 law enforcement personnel from multiple jurisdictions. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office twice reported possible sightings Monday, but each time the searches come up empty.
“He could be anywhere now,” Capers said.
Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia, center, holds a young girl during a vigil for his son Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas.
Developments:
∙ Capers said officers are going door-to-door looking for information and hopes an $80,000 reward will encourage people who might know something to speak with investigators.
∙ Oropeza’s wife is cooperating with investigators as they try “seeking closure” for the victims, Capers said.
∙ James Smith, FBI Houston special agent in charge, said the agency initially released the wrong suspect’s photo but “now we are 100% confident that we have the right photo out there.” The office also said it’s spelling the suspect’s last name as “Oropesa” “to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.”