A Texas man whose wife and eight-year-old stepson were among five people murdered by his neighbor has said he never imagined a massacre would take place in his house.
Wilson Garcia’s wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and eight-year-old stepson, Daniel Enrique Laso, were killed amid a row over noise.
Garcia had asked Francisco Oropesa, 38, to stop firing his gun near their home in Cleveland, Texas, because their one-month-old baby was trying to sleep.
Oropesa told Garcia that it was his property, and he could do what he wanted.
He then came over to Garcia’s house and shot dead five people – Garcia’s relatives and three friends who were visiting.
Wilson Garcia said he was stunned that his neighbor of three years would murder five people inside his home
Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican, is on the run after shooting dead five people in Cleveland, Texas on Friday night
Oropesa’s victims included Garcia’s eight-year-old stepson, Daniel Enrique Laso (pictured)
‘We had company. We were going to make something to eat, the guy, came out and he was shooting,’ Garcia told ABC 13 News.
‘We asked him to be quiet, because my baby was scared.’
Garcia told Oropesa, a Mexican national who had been deported multiple times and was in the country illegally, that he would call the police.
‘I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people,’ Garcia said.
Garcia, originally from Honduras, said that Oropesa shot at him multiple times but missed.
‘He couldn’t catch up to me. The bullets were hitting (everywhere), ‘ Garcia said.
Garcia said that he and Oropesa had lived next to each other for three years.
‘I never had a problem with him. I can’t believe what he did,’ Garcia said.
The FBI on Sunday confirmed more than 250 law enforcement officers are hunting for Oropesa, insisting they would not rest until he was caught.
The FBI initially used the wrong photo in their wanted poster, but on Sunday corrected it.
They also corrected the spelling of his last name, which was initially Oropeza.
A $55,000 reward was increased to $80,000.
‘We consider him armed and dangerous,’ said James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge.
‘He’s out there, and he’s a threat to the community.’
Smith admitted that they initially publicized the wrong photo, but corrected it as soon as they realized their error.
‘In an investigation like this we are receiving a whole slew of information,’ he said.
‘It was a mistake on our side. We are now 100 percent confident we have the right photo out there.’
Oropesa has a large tattoo on the inside of his forearm of what appears to be a female Aztec, wearing a headdress.
FBI agents are seen at the neighborhood in Cleveland, Texas where Oropesa shot and killed five people
Five people – the youngest only eight years old – were shot and killed inside this house on Friday night
A sign nearby warns people that the owner is armed
Honduran flags are seen decorating a tree where the five people were shot and killed
Police have found an abandoned cell phone and articles of clothing lying around, and tracking dogs from the Texas Department of Correction ‘picked up a scent and then … lost that scent in the water,’ according to the sheriff of San Jacinto County, Greg Capers.
‘He could be anywhere now,’ said Capers.
Oropesa allegedly shot the victims after one them asked him to stop firing off rounds outside his home just before midnight.
Police had been called to the home before for reports about the firing of guns. It is not illegal to fire guns in your own yard, but it remains unclear why officers did not ask for a permit – which, as a person in the country illegally, he could not have.
The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.
They were all Honduran nationals shot ‘from the neck up,’ in their home, Capers said.
He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them.
Capers said there were 10 people in the house, including three children who were not hurt.
Officials from the FBI are pictured on Sunday, as the manhunt continues
Sheriff Greg Capers of San Jacinto County is seen in the hat standing next to James Smith, FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge, on Sunday
Some of those in the house had moved in earlier in the week.
Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives close to Oropesa’s house, said he heard gunshots around midnight but was unperturbed, as gunfire is normal in the neighborhood.
‘It’s a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,’ Arevalo said.
‘They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.’
He told ABC 13 that Oropesa threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighborhood.
His dog chased a pit bull in Oropesa’s truck.
‘I tell my wife all the time, ‘Stay away from the neighbors. Don’t argue with them. You never know how they’re going to react,” Arevalo said.
‘I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don’t know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.’
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