Texas shooting - latest: Francisco Oropesa and partner ‘plotted escape to Mexico’ after Cleveland massacre

Texas massacre suspect Francisco Oropesa’s partner Divimara Lamar Nava brought him donuts from a local store and helped plot escape, say officials

5 killed, including 8-year-old in San Jacinto County, shooter at large

Francisco Oropesa and his partner were allegedly plotting their escape to Mexico after he killed five of his neighbours in a horror mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas.

Authorities said on Wednesday that the suspected gunman hid out in a home near Conroe just miles from the massacre while Divimara Lamar Nava brought him donuts from a local store.

Ms Lamar Nava also allegedly delivered a message to Mr Oropesa’s cousins asking them to help in their escape over the border – all the while she was pretending to cooperate with investigators.

She is now facing charges for helping Mr Oropesa following his capture on Tuesday.

The accused gunman had been the focus of a dramatic four-day manhunt in the wake of Friday’s shooting which unfolded when his neighbours asked him to stop shooting near their home because a baby was trying to sleep.

He allegedly stormed into his neighbours’ home with an AR-15-style rifle and opened fire on people inside.

Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, her nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman, Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and José Jonathan Cásarez, 18, were all killed in the shooting.

Key Points

• Texas shooting suspect in custody four days after five people killed over noise complaint
• Five dead in Texas shooting as armed suspect on the loose
• Police found Oropesa by surveilling his wife
• Victims in deadly Texas shooting named as survivor recounts confronting gunman with machete
• What do we know about the suspect?

[5 May 2023 12:00 · Ariana Baio]

Alleged Texas shooter’s partner brought him doughnuts and plotted escape to Mexico while he was on the run

While the suspected Cleveland, Texas, shooter Francisco Oropesa was hiding from authorities, his partner Divimara Lamar Nava was bringing him doughnuts and plotting their escape, all while seeming to cooperate with police, according to authorities.

The Independent reports:

[5 May 2023 13:00 · Ariana Baio]

Neighbour of Francisco Oropesa says she bought a gun after shooting

A neighbour of the suspected Cleveland, Texas shooter, Francisco Oropesa, told NBC News she bought a gun after last Friday’s mass shooting.

The neighbour, who asked only to be identified by her first name, Vanessa, said that her father used to shoot guns and drink with Mr Oropesa and “figured out” that Mr Oropesa was “not a good person.”

“And I’m glad he did, because what if it was us?” Vanessa said.

The neighbour also said she was not surprised Mr Oropesa managed to avoid law enforcement because he avoided police when being served with an alleged protective order last year

“He was hiding from the police that time, too,” she said.

[5 May 2023 13:30 · Ariana Baio]

Francisco Oropesa had a cellphone on him and was in contact with people when he was found

Francisco Oropesa had a cellphone on him when he was found hiding under a pile of laundry in the closet of a home in Cut and Shoot, Texas, on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Chief Deputy Tim Kean of the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office slammed anyone who helped the suspect while he was on the run – saying that the people the accused mass killer was in contact with had not left the area.

“Anybody that helped this maniac definitely has some kind of issues as far as I’m concerned,” he said, adding that Mr Oropesa “thought he was in a safe spot”.

None of the individuals arrested in connection to the mass shooting were at the home in Cut and Shoot at the time of Mr Oropesa’s arrest, he said.

[5 May 2023 14:00 · ariana.baio]

WATCH: Law enforcement host press conference after suspect captured