WASHINGTON, June 3, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Texas law enforcement officers have
shot dead a convicted murderer who escaped prison and was suspected of
killing a family close to his last known location, authorities said Thursday.

The bodies of five people -- one adult and four children -- were found in a
house near the town of Centerville, Leon County on Thursday, the local
sheriff's office said.

Gonzalo Lopez was shot in the city of Jourdanton after gunfire ensued when
law enforcement officers located the family's stolen vehicle and disabled it
with spike strips, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) spokesman
Jason Clark said in a statement.

Police had been searching the east Texas area for Lopez since he escaped on
May 12 while being transported to another prison by bus.

Clark said 46-year-old Lopez, who was serving a life sentence for capital
murder, escaped his restraints and sawed through the metal cage in which he
was being held on the bus before assaulting the driver and fleeing.

Police were called Thursday by a relative of the deceased family who was
worried after not hearing from them, Clark told a press conference before
Lopez was shot.

"Lopez is obviously a killer, he has a disregard for human life," Clark said.

He said the family lived in the Houston area, and that the residence was a
weekend home.