Gunman kills 5 neighbours who complained about shooting noise, Texas police say

A Texas man went next door with a rifle and fatally shot five of his neighbours, including an eight-year-old boy, after they asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large more than 18 hours after the shooting that began just before midnight on Friday near the small city of Cleveland, about 72 kilometres north of Houston. Some residents who live on the street said it was not uncommon to hear neighbours unwind at the end of the work week by firing off guns.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said the suspect used an AR-style rifle, and as the search for him dragged into Saturday evening, authorities said they had widened their efforts to as much as 16 to 32 kilometres from the murder scene. Capers said the suspect may still have a weapon but that he believes authorities have the rifle used in the shooting.

Capers said they found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area that includes dense layers of forest but that tracking dogs had lost the scent.

"He could be anywhere now," Capers said.

Capers said the victims were between the ages of eight and 31 years old and that all were believed to be from Honduras.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe everyone at the home were members of a single family.

The victims were identified as:

The confrontation began after family members walked up to the fence and asked the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, the sheriff said, and one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle.

Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but didn't think anything of it.

"It's a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work," Arevalo said. "They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there."

Capers said his deputies had been to the suspect's home at least once before and spoken with him about "shooting his gun in the yard." It was not immediately clear whether any action was taken at the time.

The new arrivals in the home had moved from Houston earlier in the week, the sheriff said, but he did not know whether they were planning to stay there.

The attack was the latest act of gun violence in what has been a record pace of mass shootings in the United States so far this year, some of which have also involved semiautomatic rifles.