Growing search for Texas gunman who killed 5 enters Day 3

CLEVELAND, Texas — The search in Texas for a gunman who fatally shot five neighbors with an AR-style rifle entered a third day Monday after authorities over the weekend acknowledged they had little sense of the killer’s whereabouts despite a widening dragnet near Houston.

The suspect, 38-yearold Francisco Oropeza, has been at large since the shooting just before midnight Friday in the rural town of Cleveland. By Sunday evening, authorities said more than 250 officers from multiple jurisdictions had joined the manhunt, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott put up $50,000 in reward money for tips leading to Oropeza’s capture.

“I can tell you right now, we have zero leads,” James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, said Sunday.

Oropeza is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the area Friday night, likely on foot. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities had widened the search area beyond the scene of the shooting, which occurred after the suspect’s neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

At a Sunday vigil in Cleveland, Wilson Garcia, the father of the 1-month-old, described the terrifying efforts inside his home by friends and family that night to escape, hide and shield themselves and children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

In total, authorities have put $80,000 in reward money on the table, most of it coming from Abbott. But the Texas governor also drew backlash on social media for referring to the victims as five “illegal immigrants” in a statement announcing the reward money.