The horrible happenings over the weekend in San Jacinto County, Texas, move further into the week, as law enforcement is still on high alert, searching for the man who shot and killed five people.

KHOU-TV reports:

My colleague streiff delivered the news on the Friday incident:

Friday night, San Jacinto County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department officers answered a call to rural Cleveland, TX, complaining of “harassment.” When they arrived, they found four people shot to death, three women and one man. An eight-year-old boy was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. The shooter was identified as a 39-year-old neighbor. Police suspect the shootings stem from calls from the victims’ house complaining that the shooter was randomly discharging his AR-15-style modern sporting rifle into his yard.

In typical Leftist fashion, the knee-jerk narrative of gun control came to the fore. The shooter, identified as Francisco Oropesa, used an AR-15 to kill his victims. Five people dead made it a mass shooting, and the women who were shot had used their bodies to shield six children, a fact that groups like Everytown For Gun Safety and Newtown Action Alliance were salivating over. However, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin brought in fresh facts, which put a different spin on the narrative attempting to be drawn, as reported on Saturday by my colleague Nick Arama.

It’s now been confirmed that not only is he [shooter Francisco Oropesa] an illegal alien (as many suspected), but according to Fox’s Bill Melugin, he’s been deported at least five times between 2009 and 2016. But he just keeps coming back.

Fascinating how a gun control debate can be transformed into a border control (or lack thereof) one with the insertion of new evidence that goes against the preferred narrative. Aside from the soon-to-be-defunct Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and California’s resident idiot Governor Gavin Newsom, the usual suspects have been radio silent since Melugin revealed this inconvenient truth.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement on Sunday, announcing a reward for the capture of Oropesa for the killing of five “illegal immigrants.”

I’ve announced a $50K reward for info on the criminal who killed 5 illegal immigrants Friday. Also directed #OperationLoneStar to be on the lookout.

I continue working with state & local officials to ensure all available resources are deployed to respond. pic.twitter.com/SpkUgKqKGe

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 30, 2023

The open borders umbrage crowd kicked into gear. These are children of God and victims—they are not illegal! How dare Greg Abbott (imagine Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech) call these victims out in this way.

‘Nobody Is Illegal in Heaven’: Chef José Andrés Skewers Greg Abbott For Calling Mass Shooting Victims ‘Illegal Immigrants’ https://t.co/vG26oiLDIN

— #TuckFrump (@realTuckFrumper) May 1, 2023

The uber-Leftist Houston Chronicle took the governor to task as well.

Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to define victims of a mass shooting as "illegal immigrants" reflects his inability to find compassionate words when communities need it most, writes the Editorial Board. https://t.co/IaTGeoyrH1

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) May 2, 2023

With one tweet, the five people whose lives were cut short became merely illegal immigrants. The governor’s official statement attached to the tweet included one scripted line of condolence, “Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence.” No words, however,  sympathizing expressly with Wilson Garcia, the father who lost his wife and son, who is trying to stay strong for his surviving children but whose sobs at a Sunday vigil were audible over a choir singing of “Amazing Grace.”

Conveying sympathy shouldn’t be so difficult.

Convey sympathy, but don’t speak the truth, because it hurts—our narrative in particular.

The husband of one of the victims, 21-year-old Diana Velazquez Alvarado, took advantage of this speck of misinformation given by Abbott and spoke with a community activist Carlos Eduardo Espina. He wanted the world to know that his wife was a legal resident, and even supplied a picture of her green card as proof.

Who does this in the midst of grief? Inquiring minds want to know.

I just spoke to the husband of one of the victims. He confirmed to me that his wife was a permanent resident of the US. He even sent me a picture of her ID confirming this.

But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an ‘ilegal immigrant’. Shameful. https://t.co/O2AphCodlh pic.twitter.com/YjGLdBMtRl

— Carlos Eduardo Espina (@cespina1998) May 1, 2023

I just spoke to the husband of one of the victims. He confirmed to me that his wife was a permanent resident of the US. He even sent me a picture of her ID confirming this. But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an ‘ilegal [sic] immigrant’. Shameful.

Finally, the Left had a convenient talking point with which they could bludgeon us to death. More leftist journos lazily pounced, the word “illegal” fueling a ton of op-eds and hot takes.

At least one of the murder victims in Texas was a permanent resident of the U.S.

Greg Abbott lied when he said all five were "illegal immigrants." His office has since backtracked, but his tweet is still up and he has not apologized for lying.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 1, 2023

Hollywood, as per usez, stuck its nose where it didn’t belong, compliments of Mr. “Oh My” George Takei.

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.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 30, 2023

Doesn’t Takei live in gun-controlled California, the state that still ranks in the nation as high for mass shootings? Laguna Woods, Monterey Park, and Half-Moon Bay would like a word. Now, Go. Sit. Down.

Every left-wing loon from the MSNBC coffee klatch at Morning Joe Scarborough to Capitol Hill where Rep. Ilhan Omar and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) expressed outrage that Abbott was dehumanizing the victims, and expressing “anti-immigrant hate.”

Greg Abbott consistently traffics in anti-immigrant hate.

From reducing mass shooting victims to “illegal immigrants,” to sending thousands of migrants across the country, to terrorizing immigrant communities– cruelty is the point.

This xenophobia shouldn't exist in America. https://t.co/hQ4nFrWK7C

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 1, 2023

All over a trickle of a gaffe in the midst of a fire hose of information. Finally, the Left had a narrative they could run, and that wouldn’t require anyone driving home the “root causes,” as Border Czar VP Kamala Harris liked to opine. Biden’s open border policies created the atmosphere that allowed an illegal alien to cross the border and be deported five times, then kill innocent people on the latest stopover. Anything to obfuscate those facts, and this inconvenient word choice by Gov. Abbott was just the ticket they needed.

So, now the Left can continue to ignore the Biden Border Crisis™, because Abbott is a racist jerk lacking in compassion. They can ignore the fact that an illegal alien and chronic border jumper manipulated Texas’ gun laws and gained access to firearms, then proceeded to murder his fellow (mostly) illegal aliens with an AR-15 over a complaint. Oh, and that murderer is still armed, dangerous, and on the loose, and could potentially kill anyone in his path. These are enough cold, hard facts that could drive the news cycle for months. Yet the response of the Left is their narrative, their rules, first and foremost.

Actual reality, truth, and reporting of facts on the ground? Not so much.

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