The Texas gunman who shot and killed five people, including a nine-year-old, had an extensive shrine to the death cult and ties to the criminal underworld.
Francisco Oropesa, 38, opened fire Friday at his neighbor’s home in Cleveland, about 40 miles north of Houston, after they asked him to stop firing in his backyard.
Oropesa, an illegal immigrant from Mexico formerly known as Oropeza by police, fled as a nationwide manhunt took place.
So told an anonymous law enforcement official who worked on the case Center for Immigration Studies that a shrine honoring the ‘Santa Muerte death cult’ was found in his room after the massacre.
The cult is famous among Mexican drug cartels, and researchers believe it means Oropesa has connections to the criminal underworld, which may help him escape back to Mexico.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday that Oropesa has been deported four times since 2009.
On Tuesday, sources reported that Oropesa had been captured, ending the four-day manhunt.
Francisco Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican, is on the run after he shot and killed five people Friday night in Cleveland, Texas
Oropesa had several tattoos dedicated to the “Santa Muerte death cult.” After the massacre, a shrine honoring the cult was found in his room
Followers of the Santa Muerte sect, often drug lords, believe their “prayers” will prevent them from being arrested.
The shrine found in Oropesa’s bedroom was on glass shelves. Candles in the display case were still burning from the moment the gunman opened fire on Friday.
The source told the news outlet that the candles had “saints” from the death cult, often reflecting a Grim Reaper.
Multiple statues resembling Catholic patron saints were found, along with fresh flowers and several $2 bills. An offer of drugs wrapped in aluminum foil was also found, according to the news outlet.
Oropesa seemed deeply invested in the cult and even had several tattoos of the “saints” on his body. A tattoo on his arm showed a cloaked skeleton figure on a pedestal.
Another large tattoo on the inside of his forearm showed what appeared to be a female Aztec wearing a headdress.
The shrine wasn’t enough for police to believe Oropesa may be linked to drug crimes, but the gunman’s tattoos could suggest otherwise, the source said.
Another large tattoo on the inside of his forearm showed what appeared to be a female Aztec, wearing a headdress
Five people – the youngest only eight years old – were shot dead in this house on Friday night
Garcia’s wife Sonia Guzman, 29, (right) and their son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, 9, (left) were both shot dead in the incident
A memorial was seen outside the house where the mass shooting took place on Friday
Oropesa allegedly shot the victims after one of them asked him to stop firing bullets outside his home just before midnight.
The police had previously been alerted to the home for reports of firearms being fired. It’s not illegal to fire guns in your own yard, but it remains unclear why officers didn’t ask for a permit – which he, as an illegal resident, couldn’t have.
The victims have been identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 9; Diana Velázquez Alvarado, 21; Julia Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.
According to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers, all were Honduran nationals who were shot “from the neck up” in their home.
He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom lying above two children in an apparent attempt to protect them.
Capers said there were 10 people in the house, including three children who were not injured.