Texas shooting victim Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, died trying to protect mom

The 9-year-old boy who was shot and killed along with his mother and three others in their Texas home died trying to protect her, his heartbroken father said Monday.

Survivor and grieving father Wilson Garcia recalled the moment his loved ones were shot and killed by fugitive Francisco Oropesa, 38, who opened fire on the family and their guests after they complained about his late-night shooting waking up their baby.

Garcia said that after his wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, protected him from the gunman, it was his son, Daniel Enrique Laso, who rushed to try to help after seeing her body hit the floor.

“He died because he wanted to defend his mother,” Garcia told NBC’s “Today.”

Along with the mother and son, police identified the victims as Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21, Julisa Molina Rivera, 31, and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said all five victims were shot from the neck up, “execution-style.”

Garcia has launched a GoFundMe page to help bring his wife and son’s bodies back to their native Honduras.

The page has raised more than $35,000 as of Monday afternoon. Another fundraiser for all the victims’ families has surpassed $200,000.

While authorities have yet to confirm the immigration status of the victims, Capers said it didn’t matter to him because he wants to find justice for young Daniel and the others.

“My heart is with this … little boy,” Capers said at a press conference Sunday, fighting back tears. “I don’t care if he was here legally. I don’t care if he was here illegally. He was in my county.”

At least one of the victims, Alvarado, was confirmed to be a permanent US resident.

The suspected gunman, however, was identified as a Mexican national who had been deported four times since 2009, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed.

He was allegedly drunk on Friday night, firing his gun from his yard, when Garcia and his wife asked him to stop because it woke up their 1-month-old baby.

Survivor Jeffri Rivera said there were a total of eight adults and eight kids inside the home at the time of the shooting, and confirmed that they called police five times before the massacre.

Rivera said that as some ran out of the home to avoid the gunman’s wrath, others took the children and hid in rooms and closets.

Oropesa remains on the run following Friday night’s shooting, with more than 250 law enforcement officers deployed in the Lone Star State looking for him.

There is a combined $80,000 reward from Texas and the FBI for any critical information on Oropesa’s whereabouts.

When asked by reporters if he thinks Oropesa will be caught, Garcia could only say, “I hope so.”