Greg Abbott Criticized for Response to Texas Shooting: 'A New Low'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been criticized for his response to a mass shooting that left five people dead in his state.

Authorities appear no closer to catching the suspect, identified as Francisco Oropeza, after more than two days of searching.

Oropeza, 38, is considered armed and dangerous after fleeing the Cleveland, Texas, area on Friday night. Authorities say he entered his neighbors' home and fatally shot five people, including a 9-year-old boy after they had asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard at night because a baby was sleeping.

Abbott, a Republican, announced $50,000 in reward money for information on Sunday, noting in a press release and tweet that the victims were "illegal immigrants." The release also noted that Oropeza was in the country illegally.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, blasted Abbott's statement, calling it "a new low" and accusing the governor of "continuing to do nothing" to keep Texas safe from gun violence.

Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, where a teenage gunman killed 19 students and two teachers last year, wrote on Twitter: "Greg, how was an undocumented person able to obtain an AR-15 in the first place? I'll tell you why. It's because you and other Republicans have made safe gun laws nonexistent. I challenge you to show some actual political courage and #DOSOMETHING."

Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar wrote: "They were part of a family, @GregAbbott_TX — and one of the victims was a child. What a disgusting lack of compassion and humanity."

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also hit out at Abbott.

The caucus tweeted: "5 innocent lives lost to gun violence. TX @GovAbbott decides to dehumanize & delegitimize the lives of those killed in this horrific attack by calling them "illegal" immigrants. Just horrible. Thoughts are with the families and the survivors during this difficult time."

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres wrote that Abbott's "hatred for immigrants and love of AR-15s far outweigh his humanity."

Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, wrote that Abbott is a "racist xenophobe" who "can't bring himself to say a man with easy access to assault rifle [slaughtered] a family and child in his state."

Actor George Takei replied to Abbott's tweet: "This is despicable. I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong."

Meanwhile, Carlos Eduardo Espina, an immigrant rights activist, tweeted a photo of an ID apparently belonging to one of the victims, confirming that she was a permanent resident of the U.S.

"But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an 'illegal immigrant.' Shameful," Espina wrote.

However, others praised Abbott. "Other politicians should be so forthright - call a spade a spade, and tenaciously pursue the suspect," one person tweeted, while others suggested closing the border.

Another person wrote: "Pretending nothing is happening at the border and focusing on choice of words is beyond dehumanizing. Thank you for putting up money and trying to find the killer. Your actions are stronger than words."

In a statement provided to Newsweek, Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said information provided by federal officials after the shooting had indicated that the suspect and victims were in the country illegally.

"We've since learned that at least one of the victims may have been in the United States legally," Eze said.

"We regret if the information was incorrect and detracted from the important goal of finding and arresting the criminal. The true focus remains on catching this heinous criminal who killed five innocent people and bringing the full weight of Texas law against him."

Her statement did not address why Abbott mentioned the victims' status in his statement.

The FBI in Houston has released more images of Oropeza on Twitter, and said it would be referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, going forward to "better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems."

According to The Associated Press, his family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records.

The San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office and the FBI have also chipped in reward money, together offering a total of $80,000 for any information about Oropeza's whereabouts.

More than 250 officers from multiple jurisdictions were searching for Oropeza by Sunday evening.

"FBI Houston and other local, state, & federal agencies will not stop assisting SJSO until he is captured and justice is brought on behalf of the 5 victims," the FBI in Houston posted on Twitter.

Update 5/2/23, 3:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a statement from Renae Eze.