CLEVELAND, Texas -- A widening manhunt for a Texas suspect in the fatal shootings five neighbors continued coming up empty Sunday as officers knocked on doors, the governor put up $50,000 in reward money and the FBI appeared no closer to catching the suspect after nearly two days of searching with a team that has grown to hundreds of people.
"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads," James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters, while again asking the public for tips in the rural town of Cleveland, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.
The search for the shootings suspect near Houston has grown in scale: Authorities said that by Sunday evening more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions were searching for Francisco Oropeza, many of them going door-to-door in hopes of any clues that would lead to the 38-year-old suspect. Local officials and the FBI also chipped in reward money, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information about Oropeza's whereabouts.
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 the children after Oropeza walked up to the home and began firing, killing his wife first at the front door.
Another of Garcia's children, 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, was also killed. Garcia said he and two other people had gone to "respectfully" ask Oropeza to shoot his gun farther away from the house, which is on a street where residents say it is common for neighbors to unwind by firing off guns.
Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It was 10 to 20 minutes later when he said he saw Oropeza loading his AR-style rifle while running toward the house.
"I told my wife, 'Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,'" Garcia said. "My wife told me to go inside because 'he won't fire at me. I'm a woman.'"
Authorities have said at least five other people who were in the house at the time were uninjured.
During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said.
Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as the doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspect's wife multiple times.
All the victims were believed to have been shot from the neck up, according to authorities. All were believed to be from Honduras.
The FBI in Houston said in a tweet Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to "better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems." His family lists its name as Oropeza on a sign outside the yard, as well as in public records. Authorities had also previously stated that Garcia's son was 8 years old, but the father and school officials said Sunday that the third grader was 9.
FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe those at the home were members of a single family. In addition to the boy, the other victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.
Information for this article was contributed by Susan Haigh of The Associated Press.
Law enforcement officials continue to work in the neighborhood Sunday, April 30, 2023, where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left several people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A home is shown Sunday, April 30, 2023, where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left several people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Josue Barcenas plays in his driveway, Sunday, April 30, 2023, across the street from the scene of a mass shooting Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers talks to investigators at the scene where five people were shot and killed the night before, Saturday, April 29, 2023, in unincorporated San Jacinto County, Texas. The suspect, Francisco Oropeza, who lives next door, is still at large. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Veronica Pineda, left, walks down the driveway with her twin sons, Nathan & Josue Barcenas, Sunday, April 30, 2023, across the street from the scene of a mass shooting Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A law enforcement official works Sunday, April 30, 2023, in the neighborhood where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left several people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers answers a question after a news conference, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. The suspect fled after the shooting Friday night that left five people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Law enforcement officials work Sunday, April 30, 2023, in the neighborhood where a mass shooting occurred Friday night, in Cleveland, Texas. The search for a Texas man who allegedly shot his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard stretched into a second day Sunday, with authorities saying the man could be anywhere by now. Francisco Oropeza, 38, fled after the shooting Friday night that left several people dead, including a young boy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)