Police in Texas captured a man they believe killed five of his neighbors after they discovered him hiding in a cupboard beneath a load of laundry.

North of Houston, Francisco Oropesa was taken into custody. He was located a distance away from his residence, where the shootings took place late on Friday.

When his neighbors allegedly requested Mr. Oropesa to stop practicing with his rifle because the noise was keeping a baby awake, he allegedly attacked them.

One of the victims was nine years old.

The Honduran foreign ministry named them as Sonia Guzman, 28, Diana Velasquez, 21, Obdulia Molina, 31, Jonathan Caceres, 18, and Daniel Enrique Lazo, 9. They were all citizens of Honduras.

With the capture of Mr. Oropesa, a 38-year-old Mexican national, a four-day manhunt that involved law enforcement agents from numerous agencies, including the FBI, has come to a conclusion. Police investigated a region as far south as the Mexican border using drones and scent-tracking canines.

Authorities offered a reward of $80,000 (£64,000) for information resulting in his capture, and the FBI stated on Tuesday that Mr. Oropesa “could be anywhere” after days of fruitless searching.

However, on Tuesday evening, a member of the public called the FBI’s tip line, and less than an hour later, the suspect was apprehended close to the town of Cut and Shoot, authorities said in a press conference.

Although the police have not disclosed the owner of the house where he was detained, the New York Times reported that property records indicate it is a relative’s home.

“They can rest easy now, because he is behind bars,” Sherriff Greg Capers said of the families of the victims. “He will live out his life behind bars for killing those five.”

The suspect was taken into custody by members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or Bortac, a specialised unit, said Sheriff Capers of San Jacinto County.

He will be charged with five counts of murder. The alleged attacker was deported four times between 2009 and 2016, US immigration officials said, although it is unclear on what grounds this happened.

An investigation is under way into how the suspect obtained the weapon used in the killings, which was an AR-style rifle.

By gvoice

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