Five People Shot and Killed by Neighbor in Cleveland, Texas: Latest News and Updates

Five people have been shot and killed in a home in Cleveland, Texas. The police say they were killed by a neighbor after they complained that he was shooting at point blank range in the courtyard.

Among those killed is an eight-year-old, and three women and a man have also been killed. The alleged perpetrator has not yet been arrested. He is said to have been armed with a semi-automatic rifle, an AR-15 or similar. Cleveland is about 70 kilometers north of Houston.

The killings happened late Friday night, local time.

The suspect is a 39-year-old man, according to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers.

Protected the children

Capers says there were ten people in the house where the murders took place. Five of them were killed, while five others were not injured. All those killed must have a background from Honduras. Two of them were found lying over two children inside the house.

– The Honduran women who lay over the children did it to try to protect them, says Capers. He says that all those killed were hit in the neck or head.

According to the police, the murders took place after members of the family went up to the fence towards the neighbour. They asked the neighbor to stop shooting, as it was past 11 in the evening and they had a baby who needed to sleep. He then allegedly replied that it was his property.

– They went back to their house and then we have video that shows the perpetrator walking up the neighbor’s driveway with the AR-15 rifle, says Sheriff Greg Capers to The Washington Post.

The police came by

Capers says police have previously been to the suspect’s home.

– Police officers have stopped by and talked to him about how he shot with his weapon in the garden, he says.

Some of those who were in the house where five were killed are said to have moved there from Houston earlier in the week.

The US is set to have a record number of mass shootings this year. Since the new year, there have been at least 18 shooting incidents with four or more people killed. The motives are many, from murder followed by suicide and violence in close relationships to gang settlements, school shootings and conflicts at workplaces.