Federal agents from the U.S. Border Patrol have been credited with arresting Francisco Oropesa, who is a suspect in the murders of five people in Cleveland, Texas, last week.
Border Patrol’s parent agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, confirmed in a statement late Tuesday evening that law enforcement officers from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit were the ones who found Oropesa hiding in a closet underneath a pile of clothes earlier in the evening.
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“Tonight, agents from the Border Patrol’s elite BORTAC unit apprehended the suspect without incident,” CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller said. “In small towns and communities like Cleveland, Texas, the men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection — in particular, the U.S. Border Patrol — provide integral law enforcement support to local authorities, protecting and serving the communities they live in. Tonight’s actions clearly demonstrate that our agents and officers bring incredible capabilities to bear every day as they work to keep our communities safe.”
Border Patrol’s BORTAC was the same band of agents who took down Uvalde shooter Salvador Ramos after he killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in May 2022.
Oropesa, 38, was arrested in Montgomery County at a location approximately 20 miles away from the site of the shooting in Cleveland, a small town located 50 miles northeast of downtown Houston.
“I am incredibly proud of the members of our U.S. Customs and Border Protection workforce who, together with partners at the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office, apprehended the suspect of Friday’s brutal murders in Texas,” Miller said.
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Oropesa was taken into custody without incident after a five-day search in the area surrounding Houston. He will be charged with five counts of murder for allegedly using an AR-15 rifle to shoot five people in a home next door after they had asked him to stop shooting in his backyard. One of the five people killed was a 9-year-old boy.
The suspect is held on a $5 million bond.
