Convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez, 46, who is suspected of killing a family of five after being on the loose for a month since escaping custody during a bus transport, was fatally wounded in a shootout with police on Thursday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).
After being on the run for a month, authorities believe Lopez killed five victims at a rural cabin on Thursday morning near Centerville in Leon County, close to where he escaped in Gatesville, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The victim’s identities have not been released yet, though it is believed that the four minors and their grandfather who were found dead were from a Houston suburb, according to a report from KBTX.
Authorities believe Lopez then stole a 1999 white Chevrolet Silverado belonging to the property, and at 8:45 p.m. Central, the TDCJ sent out a public alert that the escapee was suspected of driving the pickup truck and being armed.
Note: TDCJ later issued a correction to the tweet above, acknowledging the five victims “included one adult and four minors.”
TDCJ spokesman Jason Clark stated in a press conference that authorities believed that Lopez also stole firearms, an AR-15 and a pistol, from the cabin.
Hours after the alert was sent out, authorities identified the fugitive driving the stolen pickup truck in Jourdanton – which AP reports is about 200 miles southwest of Centerville and 35 miles south of San Antonio – and a pursuit ensued.
Law enforcement then laid out a spike trap. Shortly after Lopez made contact with the spikes, he crashed into a tree, exited the pickup truck, and ran, according to Clark.
Lopez, using the stolen firearm, then decided to engage in a shootout with authorities, in which he was fatally shot. No law enforcement personnel involved in the shootout were injured, Clark noted.
“We are very saddened that the murders happened, but I can tell you we are breathing a sigh of relief that Lopez won’t be able to murder anyone else,” Clark said at the press conference.
Watch:
As Breitbart News reported, Lopez had escaped custody during a bus transport after he stabbed the bus driver’s hand. Lopez engaged in a struggle for the driver’s weapon, and “reportedly managed to secure the gun of the driver, Officer Randy Smith, for a brief time.”
After the struggle, the convict was able to take control of the vehicle before subsequently crashing it into a nearby field, which he then ran into, KBTX reported.
As Breitbart News reported:
Hurst [a TDCJ spokesman] told Breitbart News that shots were fired at Lopez as he fled, but it is unknown if he was struck. In its release, the TDCJ noted that Lopez was serving a life sentence for capital murder and attempted capital murder. Hurst said that the inmate was heading to a medical appointment during the transport.
Hurst also told Breitbart News that “[t]he bus carried two corrections officers and sixteen inmates,” including Lopez.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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