39-year-old Francisco Oropeza Perez-Torres is not an unknown person to the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A judge ordered him to be removed from the US back on March 19th, 2009, with ICE officials removing him later that month. Illegally entering and being caught in September 2009 by CBP wasn’t enough for him, and he was busted by ICE yet again in January 2012 when he was ordered deported for DUI and again in July 2016.
According to investigators on April 28th Torres was outside drinking and shooting off a rifle he illegally possessed. Known by neighbors to shoot off his firearms in a makeshift “range” much like others in his area, Torres was encountered by a neighbor allegedly asking him to stop as it was just before midnight, and the neighbor had kids asleep.
Rather than going and sleeping it off, it’s alleged that he shot and killed five Honduran nationals in short order, but in three separate incidents. Of the 10 people who called the house home, the five deceased were shot up horribly, with an 8-year-old making it to the hospital while the other four died at the scene.
On April 29th, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers announced their murders as well as the news that dogs had located some clothing and a cell phone that belonged to Torres but lost the trail as he had disappeared into the water. With the FBI also on the case, they have ascertained that the man is likely armed and dangerous, but they are ready to bring him in.
FBI Special Agent in Charge James Smith told the press “We’re still out there trying to find this individual. We consider him armed and dangerous and we’re not going to stop until we actually arrest him and bring him into custody.” With Capers adding in that Torres is in the wind at this point, it became obvious that the FBI has the real lead in the case at this point.
The rural community of Cleveland, TX is about 90 minutes NW of Houston and is chock-full of immigrants both legal and non. To say the people who call Cleveland home won’t talk to law enforcement would be an understatement. Communities like these are dotted all over states that cover our southern border, and their neighborhoods are incredibly tight-knit and unforgiving.
A singular murder would have sent ripples through the community, but a multiple-incident mass murder like this has sent a tidal wave instead. The people of this small town don’t want their lives interrupted by such drama. Especially having the FBI, CBP, and ICE roaming their backyards for any signs of Torres.
While certainly, anyone who sees him would likely turn him over, the connection amongst many illegals is that they are all in this together. Despite how fiercely the different nationalities seem to truly hate one another when it’s them against the feds they band together. This kind of message and way of protecting one another is a dangerous precedent.
Sherriff Capers and the alphabet boys have yet to recover the murder weapon, but they are reasonably sure he still has it in his possession and will not hesitate to use it again. Additional allegations indicate he may have a small pistol with him as well, so his ability to attack could easily be both long and short-range.
Given the amount of time that has transpired since these attacks, there is no telling where Torres has disappeared to. While many believe he may be trying to sneak back across the border, given how many times he has snuck into the US, it’s likely he has remained here and is in hiding.
Somehow, with how weak immigration laws have become under President Biden, it would seem likely that he will be given a pass for this crime. While he is a prime candidate for the left to talk about gun laws, he was also a felon in possession of an illegally obtained firearm. He also was shooting his firearm while drunk and isn’t white so there aren’t any of their typical reasons to hate firearm laws.
