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In an apparent migrant-on-migrant massacre, an allegedly drunk Texas man who was firing his AR-15 rifle in his front yard is believed to have shot and killed five people — including an 8-year-old boy — after one of the victims asked him to stop shooting the weapon, authorities said.
The victims – all from Honduras — were shot in the head, execution style, at their home in Cleveland, Tex., just 45 miles outside Houston, police said.
The suspect, Francisco Oropeza, 39 and a Mexican National, went on his shooting spree just before midnight Saturday, after one of the Mexican native’s alleged victims asked him to stop firing his rifle because a baby in the house was trying to sleep, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.
A total of 10 people were inside the home at the time of the shooting. The victims ranged in age from 8 to 40 years old.
Witnesses told authorities Oropeza, who lives next door to the victims, had been guzzling booze and shooting rounds in his backyard. His immigration status remained unknown Saturday.
Police say Oropeza walked up to his neighbor’s home and began firing an AR-15-style .223 caliber rifle. One victim was found by the doorway leading into the living room. Another was found dead in the living room. Two more women were found shot dead upstairs, their bodies shielding young children who survived and were taken to a hospital, Fox News Digital reported.
Three other victims were injured and taken to the hospital “covered in blood,” according to the Sheriff’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear if the blood belonged to them or the other victims.