The man suspected of killing five people, including an eight-year-old boy, with an AR-15-style weapon after neighbors asked him to stop shooting in his yard could be anywhere by now, authorities in Houston, Texas, have said.

The manhunt for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza could now be as wide as “10 or 20 miles” from the murder scene, San Jacinto county sheriff Greg Capers told reporters late Saturday, more than 24 hours after the shooting occurred near the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles north of Houston.

Capers said that authorities have located the gun they believe was used in the killings but say they think the man may still be armed. He also said they found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent.

James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston office, said the suspect “could be anywhere right now”.

“We consider him armed and dangerous. … We believe he’s on foot but we don’t know.” Smith added.

The shooting occurred after neighbors asked the suspect to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep. He allegedly responded by telling them that it was his property, Capers said, and then went round to their house with a weapon.

The victims are reported to have been between the ages of eight and 31 years old. All were believed to be from Honduras and had moved into the house earlier in the week. They have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8.

Two of the victims were found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them. Three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured.

Capers said his sheriff deputies had been to Oropeza’s home at least once before and spoken with him about “shooting his gun in the yard”. A neighbour told the Associated Press that Oropeza had threatened to kill his dog after it got loose.

“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,’” Rene Arevalo Sr. said. “I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don’t know who has a gun.”

The shooting is believed to be at least the seventh this month that has occurred in response to unexceptional interactions, reported the Washington Post, and adds to the record pace of mass-shooting gun violence in the US this year[]

• Associated Press contributed to reporting