Dad of crying baby that triggered Texas massacre speaks out after wife and son killed
The dad of a crying baby which inadvertently triggered a Texas shooting has spoken out for the first time after his wife and son were killed.
In the small town of Cleveland, San Jacinto County, on Friday (28 April), a man reportedly opened fired on his neighbours and has been charged with five counts of murder.
However, Francisco Oropesa, 38, is currently on the run and believed to be armed.
According to officials over the weekend, Oropesa is an illegal immigrant who could be 'anywhere by now', as the search for him continues.
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Over the last few days, several hundred law enforcement officers led by the FBI deployed drones, dogs and horseback over the vast forest of Cleveland, though there was no luck in finding the suspect.
James Smith, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the operation said on Sunday (30 April) that 'we do not know where he is; we have zero leads'.
One of those to be devastatingly impacted by the massacre is Wilson Garcia, who has lost his wife Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, and eight-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso.
Now, the Texas homeowner has been speaking to the local ABC affiliate about the events of that tragic Friday.
Garcia said that he and his wife had just put their one-month-old baby to bed for the night while also hosting a few guests in their home.
This is when neighbour Oropesa started firing his gun out on his porch, according to Garcia.
"We asked him to be quiet 'cause my baby was scared," Garcia said, adding that they would call the police if the gunman did not stop.
But the family did not have time, as a reportedly drunk Oropesa walked to Wilson's front door and shot and killed his wife and son Daniel Enrique Lasowith with an AR-15-style rifle.
Garcia added that the gunman tried to shoot him, but he failed in his attempts.
"I never thought that he would shoot. Then he went room to room, looking for people," he said.
"He couldn't catch up to me. The bullets were hitting [everywhere]."
Alongside his two family members, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 3, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, were all killed in the attack.
An emotional Garcia concluded his interview by saying he wasn't sure why Oropesa killed his loved ones.
In fact, Garcia said that Friday's encounter was actually one of the rare occasions he has interacted with his neighbour in the three years since they moved in.
"I never had a problem with him. I can’t believe what he did," Garcia said.
Callum Jones