Last Friday night in Cleveland Texas, a horrible tragedy came to be. Five people were killed in a shooting. Of those five people, including a nine-year-old child as well. This murder brought extreme sadness to the community. But also anger at what the governor, Greg Abbott tweeted next.
An Unexpected Event
On April 28, 2023, thirty-eight-year-old, Francisco Oropeza was heard shooting a rifle in his yard late at night. The sound was extremely loud and it bothered his neighbors who called 911 to make a noise complaint. After the call was made, the neighbors decided to confront Oropeza by asking him to stop shooting because they had a baby that were trying to put to sleep. It was then that Oropeza turned to the neighbors and started shooting.
The local authorities found the bodies roughly around 11:30 p.m., according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers. The victim’s house had a doorbell camera that captured the moment Oropeza approached them. “Multiple people were shot around the residence, two female victims in a bedroom used their bodies to shield two young children who survived,” stated Capers. The five deceased people were identified as Sonia Argentina Gúzman, Diana Velázquez Alvarado, Julisa Molina Rivera, José Jonathan Cásarez, and young nine-year-old child, Daniel Enrique Laso-Guzman.
‘All Smiles For The Weekend’
This shooting was breaking news everywhere in Texas, and the U.S., and yet Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, said absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, not only did he not speak about this, the day after the shooting he tweeted a picture of his dog and captioned it “All smiles for the weekend.”
Furthermore, the tweet caused anger in many people in the community and the victims’ families. After this tweet got backlash, Abbott later made another tweet:
I’ve announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday.
Many people called it “inhumane” for the Governor to show little to no empathy for the victims and their families. As well as mentioning something as irrelevant as their citizenship status as if that somehow made the shooting not as important.
The people demanded an apology from him for writing such insensitive tweets toward the victims of the shooting. The victim Diana Alvarado’s partner, Jefrinson Josué Rivera, spoke out to ABC News confirming that Diana was in fact a lawful U.S. permanent resident and not an immigrant like Abbott had said.
“She was a warrior, she gave everything for her children. Never had issues with anyone, she was happy, humble, and caring. She was so attentive to her children, her friends, and to me,” stated Rivera.
Nowhere To Be Seen
Authorities have tried to track the suspect Oropeza’s phone but according to local law enforcement, the trail went cold. They phone his phone abandoned in between piles of clothing articles. “We consider him armed and dangerous, he’s out there, and he’s a threat to the community,” stated James Smith FBI agent.
At this point, authorities believe Oropeza to no longer be in the area. This made a local judge make an arrest warrant for Oropeza. “People in this country are being gunned down with assault weapons in their own home, and that is the horrifying reality we will continue to live under until our norms and policies change,” said Kris Brown president of a gun violence prevention organization.
One would think that a grieving family would get empathy and support from their governor. But instead of he used this to push his anti-immigrant agenda. There are hopes that this murderer will be found and arrested. So the family of the victims of this tragedy can get the justice they deserve.
Written By Erika Paola Cano Peralta
Sources:
MSNBC: Greg Abbott’s deranged tweets panned after Texas mass shooting
ABC News: Gov. Abbott walks back controversial remarks about Texas mass shooting victims
CNN: Neighbors asked a man to stop firing a rifle outside. He then opened fire on them, killing 5 people, a Texas sheriff says
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Kimberly Vardeman Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
