Texas fugitive kills family, dies in police shootout

Gonzalo Lopez, 46, was being transported from a prison in Gatesville, Texas, for a medical appointment when he attacked the drivers and escaped on May 12. Then on Thursday, June 2, someone called the police because they hadn’t heard from an elderly relative. That brought officers to a remote cabin near Centerville in Leon County where they found five dead—66-year-old Mark Collins and his four grandsons: Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and Bryson Collins, 11. Waylon, Carson, and Hudson were brothers, and Bryson was their cousin. A school district in suburban Houston confirmed each of the children was a student there. Police said the family had no connection with the escapee.

What happened to Lopez? Authorities suspect he killed the family after escaping and stole their pickup truck. Police in Atascosa County, nearly 220 miles from the cabin, spotted the truck and followed it. In Jourdanton, about 35 miles south of San Antonio, police used spike strips to disable the vehicle and engaged in a gunfight with Lopez late Thursday night. He had an AR-15-style rifle, which might have also been stolen from the cabin. After the truck crashed, police shot and killed him. Police said Lopez belonged to the Mexican Mafia prison gang and was a contract killer for at least two drug cartels. He had been serving a life sentence for capital murder convictions.