A man in Texas who is thought to have k*lled five of his neighbors was caught when police found him hiding in a closet under a pile of clothes.
Francisco Oropesa was taken into custody north of Houston. He was a few miles away from where the sho0tings happened late Friday night, near his own house.
Mr. Oropesa is accused of attacking his neighbors after they asked him to stop practicing with his gun because the noise was keeping a baby awake. One of the people who died was nine years old.
All of them were from Honduras. Their names were Sonia Guzman, 28, Diana Velasquez, 21, Obdulia Molina, 31, Jonathan Caceres, 18, and Daniel Enrique Lazo, 9.
The arrest of Mr. Oropesa, a Mexican citizen who is 38 years old, puts an end to a four-day search that involved police from many different areas, including the FBI. Police searched an area that went as far south as the border with Mexico. They used drones and dogs that could follow smells.
Authorities offered a reward of $80,000 (£64,000) for information leading to his arrest. On Tuesday, the FBI said Mr. Oropesa “could be anywhere” because the days-long search had not turned up any tips.
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But someone called the FBI’s tip line on Tuesday night, and just over an hour later, the suspect was caught near the town of Cut and Sho0t, officials said at a news gathering.
Police haven’t said who owns the house where he was arrested, but the New York Times said that property records show it goes to a relative.
Sheriff Greg Capers told the families of the victims, “They can rest easy now because he is behind bars,” “He will live out his life behind bars for k*lling those five.”
Sheriff Capers of San Jacinto County said that the suspect was taken into custody by members of the Border Patrol Tactical team or Bortac. Bortac is a specialized team.
Five counts of murd*r will be brought against him. US immigration officials say that the accused attacker was sent back to his home country four times between 2009 and 2016, but they did not say why. It is being looked into how the suspect got his hands on the AR-style gun he used to k*ll the people.
On Wednesday, police said that Mrs. Oropesa had also been taken into custody. Divimara Lamar Nava, who is 53 years old, was taken into custody after a k*lling on Friday night in the small town of Cleveland.
Rand Henderson, the sheriff of Montgomery County, said she hid Mr. Oropesa before cops caught him. She is being charged with a crime for making it hard to catch or prosecute a known criminal.
Also on Wednesday, police said that Mr. Oropesa was seen in Montgomery County on Monday afternoon, which is where he was later arrested, but he managed to get away.
“We did confirm that was him on foot, running but we lost track of him. That was not a false alarm. That was him,” Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Kean said.
Outside the house where the k*lling happened, there is a makeshift memorial with flowers, balloons, and soft toys.
