Suspected gunman caught after 5 dead in Texas mass shooting

CLEVELAND, Texas — Authorities near Houston say they have caught a man suspected of killing five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old boy, with an AR-style rifle after the family confronted him late at night about firing rounds in his yard.

Francisco Oropeza, 38, was arrested Tuesday, four days after the shooting late Friday in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston, according to Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson.

Oropeza was arrested without incident, Henderson said.

The sheriff would not say whether Oropeza was armed or how authorities figured out where he was.

Police had used drones and scent-tracking dogs during the wide search for Oropeza that included combing a heavily wooded forest a few miles from the scene.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropeza had fled the scene after the attack that also left four adults dead.

He said his deputies had been called to the suspect’s house at least one other time previously over shooting rounds in his yard.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who faced backlash over drawing attention to the victims’ immigration status, had offered a $50,000 reward over the weekend for any tips that might lead to the gunman.

While doing so, the three-term governor described all the victims as “illegal immigrants” — a potentially false statement that his office walked back and apologized for Monday.