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Suspect in Massacre of 5 Neighbors in Texas Allegedly Beat His Wife Last Year, Prosecutor Says

Francisco Oropesa, who authorities say killed five of his neighbors Friday, was the subject of a protective order his wife filed in 2022, an official said.

Exterior of a crime scene where five people, including an 8-year-old child, were killed after a shooting inside a home on April 29, 2023 in Cleveland, Texas.
Go Nakamura/Getty Images

The wife of the Texas man who authorities say fatally shot five of his neighbors Friday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle filed a protective order against him in 2022 alleging he beat her, a local prosecutor confirmed Tuesday.

San Jacinto County District Attorney Todd Dillon said Francisco Oropesa, 38, who had managed to evade authorities until he was arrested Tuesday, allegedly attacked his wife on June 14.

She called the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office to report Oropesa was drunk and had physically assaulted her, Dillon said.

Dillon, citing records kept by his office, said deputies arrived at the couple’s home in Cleveland, where Oropesa’s wife said that Oropesa had kicked her on her backside and in the face and mouth and that he had broken the gate outside their home before he left, deputies reported.

She declined medical attention and chose not to file charges against him, but she asked to file for a protective order, Dillon said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

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