Manhunt for gunman who shot dead five neighbours in Texas enters its fourth day

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2023

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The search for a suspected gunman has entered its fourth day after five neighbours were shot dead in Texas – as a grieving father has recalled the moment his wife and young son were killed.

Francisco Oropesa, who is considered to be armed and dangerous, is believed to have fled the rural town of Cleveland on foot after the shooting on Friday night.

Neighbours have said the Mexican national had lived on the street where the shooting took place for years.

The attacks took place after the 38-year-old’s neighbours asked him to stop firing off rounds in his garden late at night because a baby was trying to sleep.

The gunman’s victims were all from Honduras and have been identified as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 9.

More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the US Marshals, are now part of a growing search.

Oropesa has not been found despite scent-tracking dogs, drones and a total of $80,000 (£64,000) in reward money on offer.

An FBI agent on the scene near Houston has acknowledged the bureau has little to go on in the widening manhunt.

On Monday, a heavy police presence converged in Montgomery County after a possible sighting, but the sheriff’s office later said none of the people located were Oropesa.

A few hours later, the department reported another possible sighting, tweeting that several schools had “secured their campuses” and again asked residents to avoid the area.

But that search, too, turned up nothing.

Both were among the first times since the shooting on Friday night that authorities had announced a possible sighting.

Wilson Garcia, the father of the one-month-old who had been crying before the shooting, has described the terrifying moments his wife Sonia Argentina Guzman and nine-year-old son Daniel Enrique Laso were gunned down.

He said he and the three other men went to Oropesa’s home and “respectfully” asked him to curtail or move his target practice.

“He answered by saying he was in his property and could do whatever he wants,” Mr Garcia said.

“Then he began insulting us… My wife said, ‘OK, let’s call the cops.’ Police took, like, 20 minutes to arrive, and we called five times because the man was very threatening,” he added.

It wasn’t clear whether all five of the 911 calls came before, during or after the shooting.

After refusing to stop firing, Mr Garcia said he could see Oropesa on his porch “smoking and drinking something” before “we saw him as he went inside his home to load the gun”.

Mr Garcia said he urged his wife to take cover inside as the gunman approached their house but she stood her ground.

He said: “He just walked in shooting. He didn’t say anything. He shot her, and the door was wide open. He walks in, room by room, shooting at us.”

Daniel ran to his fatally-wounded mother but was also gunned down, Mr Garcia said.

Police have recovered an AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropesa used in the shootings.

Authorities were not sure if he was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

Meanwhile, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has faced a backlash over drawing attention to the victims’ immigration status.

Mr Abbott offered a $50,000 (£40,000) reward over the weekend for any tips that might lead to the gunman being caught.

While doing so, he described all the victims as “illegal immigrants” – a potentially false statement that his office has now apologised for.

US

Trump’s tariffs hit the West’s busiest port – with traffic down by nearly a third

Published

49 mins ago

May 10, 2025

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Trump's tariffs hit the West's busiest port - with traffic down by nearly a third

Driving south from Los Angeles along the coast, you can’t miss the San Pedro port complex. Dozens of red cranes pop up from behind the freeway.

The sound of industry whirs as containers are unloaded from hulking ocean liners on to waiting lorries and freight trains that seem to never end.

The port of Long Beach combines with the port of Los Angeles to make the busiest port in the western hemisphere.

The colourful metal containers contain anything and everything, from clothes and car parts to fridges and furniture. Around $300bn of cargo passes through here every year and 60% of it is from China.

But at the moment, it’s far less busy than usual. Traffic is down by a third, compared with this time last year.

In the closest part of the mainland United States to China, this is Donald Trump‘s new tariffs policy in action, the direct result of frozen trade between the two countries.

“For the month of May, we expect that we’ll be down about 30% from where we were in May of 2024,” Noel Hacegaba, the port of Long Beach chief operating officer, tells Sky News.

“What that translates into is fewer ships and fewer containers. It means fewer trucks will be needed to transport those containers from the port terminal to the warehouses. It means fewer jobs.”

‘We’re barely surviving’

Helen Andrade knows all about that. She and her husband, Javier, are both lorry drivers. Helen only got her license in the last few years, so when work dries up, she is likely to be impacted first.

“I’m lying awake at night worrying about this,” she says.

“We’re barely surviving and we’re already seeing work slowing down. In my case, there are two incomes that are not going to come in. How are we going to survive?”

Helen adds: “I’m scared for the next two weeks, because over the next two weeks, I’m going to see where this is going, whether I have saved up enough money, which I know that I have not.”

In Long Beach, one in five jobs is connected to the port. But what happens in the port doesn’t stay here.

The shipments reach every part of the country and already, a shortage of certain items imported from China and price hikes are taking hold.

A short drive away is downtown LA’s toy district, a multicultural area consisting of a dozen streets of pastel-coloured buildings, home to importers and wholesalers of toys, much of which is imported from China.

One woman in a toy warehouse is reading a Chinese newspaper. She points to a headline about the 145% tariffs.

“I can’t afford this, I can’t afford this, I’m going to have to put prices up,” she says, exasperated.

Empty shelves

Around the corner is a party shop, selling gift bags and wrapping paper. There are empty shelves which would otherwise have been full.

“These empty spaces are where we stopped importing from China because the tariffs are too high,” says the owner, Jacob Mok.

He tells Sky News: “I’ll keep watching China and America negotiations. I hope as soon as possible they reach a deal because this is very hard for us.”

Jacob is not alone. The impact is being felt throughout the supply chain.

US trade secretary Scott Bessent will meet his Chinese counterpart in Switzerland this weekend.

Pressure is growing on Mr Trump’s team to strike a deal with China and do it quickly.

US

From Chicago’s south suburbs to Rome: Dolton’s faithful say ‘Bob’ was the boy destined to be pope

Published

49 mins ago

May 10, 2025

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From Chicago's south suburbs to Rome: Dolton's faithful say 'Bob' was the boy destined to be pope

He was the boy from the small town with big dreams of becoming pope.

Robert Prevost, or “Bob” as they knew him in Dolton, south Chicago, was the youngest son of Louis, a teacher, and Mildred, a librarian.

Devoted in their faith, they were prominent figures in St Mary’s Church.

Scott Kuzminski remembers “Millie”, the chorister, with the “voice of an angel”, and her son with a calling on his life.

“Some children dream to be the top soccer player, or rich or something, and he dreamed he was going to be the Pope,” he said.

The railroad runs through this sleepy suburb, now destined to become a place of pilgrimage.

That’s an answer to prayer for Kathleen Steenson, who believed from childhood that her church would give the world a pope.

She said: “Our faith in this little parish is so strong… and in my little mind, I thought, the next pope has got to come from here because we’re such a great little community.”

St Mary’s Church, where the Pope served as an altar boy before entering the priesthood, is derelict now, symbolic of the challenges.

But to many, this is holy ground, illuminated by the colours cast by the sun shining through the stained glass.

And at the Cathedral of the High Name in the heart of Chicago, there’s a renewed sense of optimism.

“It’s a miracle and a great blessing,” a man leaving a celebratory mass for the new pontiff told me.

A woman, who had also been in the congregation, added: “I hope that he can help people to see beyond the divisions of the country and remember the poor.”

“It’s not just the virtues that he extols,” said another man, “I’m hoping he’ll bring inspiration to all of us to preach love and that the people in Washington will listen.”

Earlier this year, Cardinal Prevost, as he was then, questioned President Trump’s stance on immigration and vice president JD Vance’s interpretation of Christianity.

Leo XIV is the first Pope from North America, but spent years as a missionary in Peru, South America.

And it’s his pastoral heart that’s giving cause for hope in a deeply divided America.

US

Lawyer for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs claims there was ‘mutual violence’ between him and ex-girlfriend

Published

49 mins ago

May 10, 2025

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Lawyer for Sean 'Diddy' Combs claims there was 'mutual violence' between him and ex-girlfriend

A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs has told a court there was “mutual” domestic violence between him and his ex-girlfriend Casandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura.

Marc Agnifilo made the claim as he outlined some of the music star’s defence case ahead of the full opening of his trial next week.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of
transportation for prostitution. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Ms Ventura is expected to testify as a star witness for the prosecution during the trial in New York. The final stage of jury selection is due to be held on Monday morning.

Mr Agnifilo told the court on Friday that the defence would “take the position that there was mutual violence” during the pair’s relationship and called on the judge to allow evidence related to this.

The lawyer said Combs‘s legal team intended to argue that “there was hitting on both sides, behaviour on both sides” that constituted violence.

He added: “It is relevant in terms of the coercive aspects, we are admitting domestic violence.”

Ms Ventura’s lawyers declined to comment on the allegations.

US District Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule on whether to allow the evidence on Monday.

Combs, 55, was present in the court on Friday.

He has been held in custody in Brooklyn since his arrest last September.

Prosecutors allege that Combs used his business empire for two decades to lure women with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs”.

Combs’s lawyers say prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalise his “swinger lifestyle”. They have suggested they will attack the credibility of alleged victims in the case by claiming their allegations are financially motivated.

The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.