BREAKING: Illegal immigrant accused of killing five neighbors in Texas apprehended 'without incident'

The illegal immigrant suspected of murdering five neighbors including an 8-year-old child in Cleveland, Texas, was taken into custody on Tuesday.

According to Fox News, Francisco Oropesa, 38, was taken into custody in the Cleveland area by the Border Patrol Tactical Unit.



Law enforcement officials said at a press conference Tuesday night that the FBI received a tip at 5:15 pm which led to an arrest at 6:30 pm.

Oropesa is accused of killing five of his neighbors in Cleveland, Texas, around midnight of April 28, after one of his neighbors allegedly asked him to stop shooting what authorities presume to be an illegally obtained rifle in his yard so that a baby could sleep.

After the conversation, Oropesa allegedly went inside the neighbor’s home and killed five of the 10 people inside, according to the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office. The family was from Honduras and the victims ranged in age from 8  to 40. Two female victims were found dead and covered in blood in the bedroom of their home, laying on top of and shielding two surviving children, according to the Daily Mail. 

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said during the press conference, "Bottom line is we now have this man in custody. He was caught hiding in a closet underneath some laundry."

Capers added that the family can "rest easy" knowing Oropesa “…will live out his life behind bars for killing those five."

Oropesa is a Mexican national who entered the US illegally and was previously deported from the US at least four, possibly five times. He had been previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in January 2021 and was sentenced to time in jail, according to Fox News.

The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, age 9, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18. 

The FBI said on Sunday evening that over 250 law enforcement officers from different agencies were searching for Oropesa.

Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Houston Field Office Jimmy Paul said that Oropesa was found because of a call to the agency's tip line. "Thank you to the person who had the courage to call in this tip. We always said it wasn't a matter of 'if' but 'when' he would be captured, and we're glad this evening was that 'when' we've all been waiting for.”

Authorities added that an $80,000 reward will go to the individual who called in the tip which led to the arrest and that Oropesa will be charged with five counts of murder and be held on a $5 million bond.