Man from Texas murders five neighbors in response to their noise complaints about his gunfire.

A tragic incident occurred in Texas when a man shot and killed five of his neighbors, including an eight-year-old boy, after they requested him to stop firing rounds in his yard as they were trying to sleep. The suspect, identified as Francisco Oropeza, who is 38 years old, is still at large, and authorities are warning that he might still be armed. The incident occurred just before midnight on Friday near Cleveland, north of Houston. Some residents say that it is not unusual to hear neighbors firing off guns to unwind.

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said that one of the neighbors went to the suspect, asking him to stop firing rounds. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property. One person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle. Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but did not think anything of it, saying, ‘It’s a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work. They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.’

The shooting took place on a rural pothole-riddled street where single-story homes sit on wide 1-acre lots and are surrounded by a thick canopy of trees. Capers said his deputies had been to Oropeza’s home at least once before and spoken with him about shooting his gun in the yard, but it is not clear whether any action was taken at the time.

Texas has been facing multiple mass shootings in recent years, including last year’s attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, and a gunman opening fire at a church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs in 2017. However, Republican leaders in Texas have continually rejected calls for new firearm restrictions.

Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives in the area, said, ‘I tell my wife all the time, Stay away from the neighbors. Don’t argue with them. You never know how they’re going to react… because Texas is a state where you don’t know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.’ The incident is a grim reminder that gun violence can take place anywhere and at any time.