More than 200 US policemen chasing a Mexican accused of killing five Hondurans

His photo is displayed on a billboard on a Texas street. US police are looking for a Mexican man accused of killing five Honduran neighbors, including a child, who complained about the noise he made as he fired a rifle in his front yard.

Regard Francesco Oropezza (OR oropesaaccording to some notices), 38 years old, who more than 200 agents are looking for in this southern US state, where firearms are plentiful and to be carried free.

In San Jacinto County, where the events occurred, a sign with his face and a message where $55,000 offered for information leading to where it is can be seen in a street, according to an image released by authorities. The FBI offered an additional $25,000.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said the killer was in the country “illegally” and had “killed five illegal immigrants.” generating criticism for its focus on the immigration status of victims.

“Five human beings have lost their lives and Greg Abbott insists on labeling them as ‘illegal immigrants,'” tweeted Julian Castro, former Democratic mayor of the Texas city of San Antonio.

On Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman for Abbott’s office, quoted by the local press, acknowledged that at least one of the victims had a formal residence in the country.

Abbott added that he will continue to “work with state and local officials to ensure they have all available resources to respond to this horrific crime.”

“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims who fell as a result of this senseless act of violence,” he added.

The CNN network reported that Oropesa already he had been expelled at least four times since 2009in a report citing immigration authorities.

Considered armed and dangerous, “he could be anywhere,” Sheriff Greg Capers, in charge of the investigation, warned over the weekend. FBI Special Agent James Smith considered him a “monster”.

Capers, the San Jacinto sheriff, said his thoughts were with the “little boy” killed.

“I don’t care if [el tirador] Was here illegally. I was in my county. Five people have died in my county and that’s where my heart is,” Capers said.

On Friday, members of the Guzmán family shared their home in Cleveland, San Jacinto County, Ramiro Guzmán, brother of one of the victims, told the press. They heard the shots that neighbor Oropeza was making from his gardenwith a semi-automatic rifle. According to Ramiro, they called 911 first, but it took a while to arrive. Through the grate that divided their houses, they told him Please shoot somewhere else, because I was waking up a baby.

He said Oropeza was enraged, he entered the family home and started shooting at them. Some managed to hide in closets or fled. When the police arrived, Oropeza was gone.

Wilson Garcia, one of the survivors, lost his 9-year-old son and his wife, as well as “two other people who died protecting my 2 1/2-year-old daughter.” He escaped through a window.

Sheriff Capers described a horrifying scene when authorities arrived at the victims’ residence after receiving a call at around 11:30pm local time on Friday.

The bodies were scattered from the front door to a bedroom, where two women were found lying on top of two frightened children who survived the massacre.

“In my opinion, they were trying to take care of the kids and keep them alive,” Capers told reporters.

All victims were shot. “from the neck up, almost execution style, practically to the head”, according to the bailiff. Several residents were killed.

Capers said the suspect “had been drinking” and allegedly told his neighbors “I’m going to do what I want in my backyard” before opening fire.

According to immigration sources cited by CNN, Oropeza was illegal and had already been deported from the United States four times.

The incident shocked the country and also Honduras, whose authorities demanded penalties for the offender.

On Monday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called on Congress to take action for greater control over civilian use of guns. “There is still time to save lives and prevent the next mass killing,” she said.

This incident is the latest in a string of U.S. shootings sparked by domestic interactions gone wrong: a teenager mistakenly knocked on the wrong door while looking for her siblings, a cheerleader who took the wrong car in a parking lot, or someone that I accidentally stopped at the wrong house.

So far this year there have been more than 180 mass shootingswith four or more people injured or dead, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

With more guns than people, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country: 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 a year earlier.

AFP extension