Escaped Texas inmate dies in police shootout after allegedly murdering family of 5
Last edited Fri Jun 3, 2022, 06:40 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: ABC News
A Texas inmate suspected of murdering five people after he escaped from a prison bus was killed by authorities on Thursday, officials said. A massive manhunt was underway for 46-year-old Gonzalo Lopez when an adult and four children were found dead Thursday evening inside a residence in Leon County in east-central Texas, near where the inmate had escaped three weeks prior.
Lopez was believed to have broken into the home and committed the murders, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Authorities said at the time that Lopez may have stolen clothes, firearms and a 1999 white Chevrolet Silverado from the residence. The house was believed to be a weekend home for the victims, whose primary residence was in Houston.
Authorities said the family had been seen Thursday morning and were found murdered around 6 p.m. local time, after an individual contacted law enforcement because they had not heard from an elderly relative inside the home and were concerned. Authorities had initially said that two adults and three children were discovered dead there."We will not rest until Gonzalo Lopez is in custody," Jason Clark, chief of staff for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said at a press conference Thursday evening.
Later that night, deputies from the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office spotted the stolen pickup truck that Lopez was believed to be driving and followed it. They laid out spike strips that flattened all four tires of the vehicle on a street in Jourdanton, just south of San Antonio and some 250 miles southwest of Leon County. The suspect then pointed a rifle out of the window and fired several shots at the deputies, who returned fire, according to authorities. The suspect was killed in the shootout and was confirmed to be Lopez, who authorities said was armed with an AR-15 and a pistol.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/adults-kids-found-dead-inside-home-escaped-texas/story?id=85150941
Heard THIS on the radio earlier this morning.
As a further update on the deceased family -
June 2, 2022, 10:15 PM EDT / Updated June 3, 2022, 3:58 AM EDT
By Claire Cardona, Lindsey Pipia and Phil Helsel
(snip)
Gonzalo Lopez, 46, had no connection to the family that was found dead in Leon County in east Texas, said Jason Clark, chief of staff for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He has been missing since May 12 when he stabbed a prison bus driver in the hand and escaped on foot in rural Texas, officials said. He took a truck from that home, which is about halfway between Dallas and Houston, and law enforcement in Atascosa County, south of San Antonio, spotted it and started following, Clark said.
After the tires were spiked and a short chase, Lopez crashed into a tree. He got out with a gun and shot at officers who fired back and killed Lopez, Clark said. It was not immediately clear what department the officers who killed Lopez were from, he said. No officers were injured. Lopez had an AR-15 and a pistol, Clark said, though it was not immediately clear where the firearms came from and which was used in the shootout. The shootout happened around 10:30 p.m. in the city of Jourdanton, about 250 miles southwest of Leon County, where Lopez escaped last month after stabbing a prison bus driver.
Officials searching for Lopez received a call from a person who had not heard from relatives, and when officers went to the home on Thursday they discovered the bodies, Clark said. This is a tragedy that you had five individuals who lost their lives, Clark said. I am thankful that tonight Gonzalo Lopez is unable to harm anyone else. The family is thought to have arrived Thursday to the house, which was being used as their vacation property, and were slain later in the afternoon, Clark said.
The home on Texas Highway 7, about a quarter mile west of Interstate 45, was inside the perimeter where law enforcement have been searching for Lopez and had been checked and cleared "multiple times," he said. He could not say whether authorities had spoken directly with the family, who were from Houston. Their identities have not been released. The TDCJ initially said the dead included two adults and three children, but in a later update said one adult and four minors were killed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/escaped-texas-inmate-may-truck-taken-home-5-found-dead-officials-say-rcna29752
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)a very bad man and don't anyone dare include him in bad cop shootings.
BumRushDaShow
(129,087 posts)when I was IN BED!
I spotted one thread in the TX forum posted just before 3 am ET.
As I understand he was a fugitive so those earlier threads may have been about him being on the lam.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)and stealing the truck.
Demovictory9
(32,457 posts)ShazzieB
(16,420 posts)oldsoftie
(12,555 posts)If you can get a vehicle you can get a long way in a short time.
brer cat
(24,576 posts)I feel grief for the family and friends of the victims.
Demovictory9
(32,457 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,087 posts)Fullduplexxx
(7,864 posts)Lopez, who was serving a life sentence for a capital murder in Hidalgo County and an attempted capital murder in Webb County,
Reason number one for the death penalty . The death penalty could have saved those lives
oldsoftie
(12,555 posts)Like it or not, there are just some people who are SO evil they no longer deserve to exist.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,913 posts)I accept the traditional standard of guilty being beyond a shadow of doubt for convictions, but not for sentencing anyone to a State ordered execution. A separate test should be applied prior to allowing for an execution: It should be inconceivable that the alleged killer was innocent of taking a life. Plenty of murder convictions can reach that standard, such as virtually all mass killing events, but short of that absolute certainty I can never support the State killing someone, there have been too many innocent people executed because of the death penalty.
SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)Trueblue Texan
(2,430 posts)The Grand Illuminist
(1,334 posts)Virtually impossible to aquire one as all gun stores got his name and face.
Midnight Writer
(21,768 posts)Polybius
(15,428 posts)My only guess is that he overpowered the adult, and the kids weren't old enough to neutralize him. So sad.
TexLaProgressive
(12,157 posts)1. How was Mark Collins and his 4 grandsons murdered by Lopez?
2. Was it with guns belonging to Collins?
Jason Clark, the chief of staff at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, told The Daily Beast that any motive for the grisly slaying was unclear. But authorities say that afterwards, he stole clothes, firearms, and a vehicle before fleeing. It was not immediately clear whether Lopez was already inside the home when the family entered it on Thursday for a fishing trip, as neighbors indicated to The Daily Beastor if the inmate broke in later.
One of Mark Collins family members told The Daily Beast on Friday the grandfather was an avid hunter who passed that passion on to his kids and grandkids, noting that the ranch was where they would hunt and fish often.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gonzalo-lopez-killed-waylon-collins-brothers-cousin-grandpa-texas-police-say
BTW, I live maybe 40 miles from Centerville.
SouthernDem4ever
(6,617 posts)unless you are willing to wear it on your arm pointed at all times, even when you are sleeping or in the shower.
TexLaProgressive
(12,157 posts)They are not letting much information out. It appears that Lopez was in the house when grandpa and boys arrived. Makes me think that the AR-15 and handgun were stored in the house. But we dont know how the 5 died.
This story needs to be opened up completely to the public. I think TDC, police and SO are not being transparent because they did not do due diligence. They claim to have cleared the house and property several times. Why didnt they find Lopez?
rockfordfile
(8,704 posts)SunSeeker
(51,571 posts)Those cosplaying gravy seals would have shown up and started handcuffing bystanders.