SAN JACINTO COUNTY, Texas – Loved ones of five people gunned down by an alleged neighbor in San Jacinto County, are planning to lay the victims to rest.
It’s where 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa is accused of gunning down five neighbors, including a 9-year-old following a noise compliant. Loved ones said Oropesa was shooting in his yard.
Meanwhile, other people in that community are speaking up about what they say is a dangerous lack of law enforcement.
When it comes to a question about lagging response times, San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office said it all boils down to manpower. In a county that spans more than 620 square miles, they say they’re short-staffed.
“This is the land of the wolfs, there’s no cops back here,” said Dale Tiller.
Last Friday’s mass shooting on Walter Street near Cleveland left a community of broken hearts, but the pain is coupled with concerns of ongoing violence.
“Like I said it’s lawless,” Tiller said.
San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tim Kean says it took about 14 minutes for responding deputies to get to the deadly scene.
“I knew that something bad was going to happen back here because of the behavior and the way people knew that they can get away with things because the sheriff would not do nothing to help anybody back here,” Tiller said.
Kean says the sheriff’s office does the best they can with what they have, adding Friday’s response time could’ve been even longer considering what they’re up against.
“To go from here to there, lights and sirens, we’re talking at least 30 minutes. This is not a rich county, all right. We’ve got 3 deputies on patrol to cover this entire county,” Kean said.
He adds even with lights and sirens, it takes an entire hour to drive from the north end of the county, to the trails end community where the massacre occurred. People left to process the event say they’re hoping something can be done.
“Gunfire back here is nonstop, I mean every day, all day. Shooting at, getting shot at, shootouts you name it--that’s the way it is back here,” Tiller said.
Kean says out of the 32 sworn positions they have, they’re about six short. He wants to emphasize that the office is hiring.