5 Dead, Including 9-Year-Old, in Texas 'Execution Style' Shooting by Alleged Drunk Gunman

An arrest warrant and a $5 million dollar bond have been issued for 39-year-old suspect Francisco Oropeza

Five people, including a 9-year-old, were killed in an "execution style" shooting by an alleged drunk AR-15 gunman in Cleveland, Texas, on Friday night, according to police.

San Jacinto Country Sheriff Greg Capers wrote in a statement that deputies on the night shift responded to several 911 calls about an active shooter incident while en route to a nearby residence for a harassment complaint.

Once they arrived at the scene, they found four people dead and one more in critical condition from multiple gunshot wounds. A.9-year-old child was pronounced dead at the local trauma center they were transported to via an air medical helicopter. (It was previously reported that he was 8 years old.)

Law enforcement authorities removing bodies from a scene where five people were shot the night before Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Cleveland, TX. Authorities say an 8-year-old child was among five people killed in a shooting at the home in southeast Texas late Friday night. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP

Local ABC News outlet KTRK reported three of the deceased were female and two male, one of which was the 9-year-old.

Capers told KTRK that the deceased were shot from the neck up in an "almost execution style," with 10 people total injured inside the residence.

"When we got here, the two females in the bedroom were laying on top of two of three younger [surviving] children," Capers told KTRK, adding that two of the victims were believed to be from Honduras.

The statement said three victims were transported to a hospital, though their condition is not yet known at this time. KTRK reported that they were covered in blood, but not injured. The statement read that two others were cleared for release after they were evaluated at the scene.

Montgomery County SWAT arrived at the scene to help clear nearby, determining that the suspect had fled the area, per the statement. KTRK reported that the alleged shooter fled by bike or foot and is currently within a two-mile radius of the residence.

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KTRK identified the suspect as 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza, who was reported as allegedly intoxicated and shooting an AR-15 on his front porch. Deputies said neighbors asked Oropeza to be quiet for their sleeping baby, but Capers told the outlet that Oropeza told them it was his property.

Capers also said one person inside the residence got a video of Oropeza walking up to their front door with the rifle.

According to the statement, an arrest warrant and a $5 million dollar bond have been issued for Oropeza.

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