Texas Authorities Searching for Suspect Who Entered Neighbor’s Home, Shot and Killed 5 People

Law enforcement in Texas is searching for a man who entered a neighbor’s home late Friday night and fatally shot five people, including one child. 

CBS News reports the attack happened around 11:30 p.m. local time on Friday, when police received a call about a shooting at a home in Cleveland, a town located about 45 miles north of Houston. Police say 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza shot and killed five people — three women,  one man, and an eight-year-old boy — after the victims asked the suspect to stop firing his rifle because they were trying to sleep.

“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,” and he had been drinking and he says ‘I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,’” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told KTRK.

Oropeza subsequently entered the victims’ residence, fatally shooting all five people in the head with a AR-15 style rifle.

“Everyone that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution-style,” Capers added.

Upon arriving at the scene, police found four of the victims dead, with the eight-year-old boy pronounced deceased at the hospital. Authorities told reporters they found two of the women laying over the bodies of two children who were ultimately unharmed.

“In my opinion, they were actually trying to take care of the babies and keep them babies alive,” Capers said.

As of Saturday afternoon, police are still searching for the suspect.