Texas police arrest man suspected of shooting five of his neighbors, ending dramatic search

Texas cops arrested the man accused of using an AR-15 rifle to kill five of his neighbors after a manhunt that lasted four days.

Francisco Oropesa, 38, was taken into custody Tuesday evening in Cut and Shoot, a city about 40 miles north of Houston.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said the suspect was arrested without incident around 7 p.m. local time, NBC News reported.

Oropesa was held in Montgomery County Jail on a murder charge and was set to be taken to San Jacinto County Jail, where bond will be placed at $5 million, said Capers.

The arrest marked the end of a massive search effort that involved over 250 law enforcement officers and an offered reward of $80,000 for anyone with information.

The incident that set off the manhunt occurred Friday evening, when Oropesa opened fire at his neighbor’s home in the Trails End area.

The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office said that Oropesa started shooting after his neighbor, Wilson Garcia, complained that gunfire coming from his property was keeping a baby awake.

“So we went and told the man to please stop shooting, or go continue shooting further away from the house,” Garcia’s wife told NBC News. “But he answered by saying he was in his property and could do whatever he wants.”

Then, Oropesa reportedly grew angry and went into their home, opening fire. The four victims were all believed to be from Honduras, and include 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

It was not immediately clear how Oropesa managed to elude police for four days.

He was ultimately “caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry,” police said, after an individual called in and reported him on the FBI’s tip line.

In a news conference Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott said that the suspect had been deported from the U.S. four times and managed to find his way back into Texas illegally.