Five Lives Lost to Paranoid Animus
"Because of the county where the case would be tried, the court system there, the prosecution, the types of jurors they're gonna get, which are mostly rural conservative jurors, I think it's a pretty fair bet this guy is gonna get hit with five death penalty sentences."Criminal Defense Attorney Kent Schaffer"He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted.""I told my wife, 'Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon'.""My wife told me to go inside because he won't fire at me, I'm a woman.""I'm trying to be strong for my children. My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her [older] brother."Wilson Garcia, resident of rural town north of Houston
This
was a tragedy, a mass shooting in a rural town in Texas where residents
are accustomed to some of their neighbours shooting off weapons for no
particular reason. Wilson Garcia and his wife Sonia Argentina Guzman,
25, were concerned that a neighbour's shooting was disturbing their
month-old son, awakening him from sleep. Mr. Garcia along with two
others approached the neighbour's house to ask him to please shoot
somewhat further from the house, to allow the crying baby to sleep in
peace.
The
houses in the neighbourhood are distanced from each other, since each
stands on an acre lot. The neighbour, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza was
incensed and refused the request. Mr. Garcia returned to his house where
he and his wife were playing host to a group of 15 people, friends
joining them on a church retreat. On his own property, Mr. Garcia
called police to report the disturbance. There were in fact, five calls
asking for help and each time the police dispatcher informed help was on
the way.
Some
ten to 20 minutes since Mr. Garcia had walked back from his neighbour's
house after his fruitless mission, he noted his neighbour running
toward his house, reloading his weapon. When the gunman reached the
Garcia home he began firing. Sonia Argentina was at the front door, and
she was shot to death. In recollection, Mr. Garcia later said his
neighbour appeared determined to kill everyone.
Daniel
Enrique Laso, Mr. Garcia's nine-year-old son was shot dead, as well as
two women, killed trying to shield the Garcia baby and 2-year-old
daughter from the carnage. One of the women, Mr. Garcia related, urged
him to leave through a window "because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them", he explained.
Police
searched for clues potentially leading them to the suspect, going door
to door while Gov.Gregg Abbott posted a reward of $50,000 for the man's
apprehension. The FBI and local officials raised the reward total to
$80,000 for information leading to the killer. The AR-15-style rifle
used by Oropeza in the shooting rampage was recovered by police. Other
weapons were found in his home.
Police
interviewed the shooter's wife multiple times, and each time she denied
knowing where he might be. In the end, he was discovered hiding in the
house under a pile of laundry. Which led police to arrest and charge
both the killer and his common-law wife. Francisco Oropeza, a Mexican
national, had been deported previously from the U.S. His victims were
originally from Honduras. Everyone is eager to live in the United States
anticipating a more secure future for themselves and their families.
Aside
from Sonia Argentina Guzman and Daniel Enrique Laso, the other three
victims were Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and
Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18, all from Honduras, all tragically wasted
lives.
"My heart is with this … boy [and his family].""He was in my county, five people died in my county, and that is where my heart is – in my county, protecting my people to the best of our ability."Local sheriff, Greg Capers of San Jacinto
Labels: Lost Lives, Mass Shooting, Texas, Tragic Social Psychopathy
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