A convicted murderer who escaped a Texas prison bus in May was killed in a shootout with authorities this week after cops say he murdered a family, theNew York Post reported.
Gonzalo Lopez, 46, escaped from a Texas prison transport bus last month and had been on the lam for weeks until he was shot dead by cops Thursday night.
Lopez had been on the run since May 12 and on Thursday night around 10:30 he was killed by cops in Jourdanton, Texas, which is just south of San Antonio, according to the Texas Department of Corrections.
While on the run, he allegedly murdered five family members inside their home, authorities said, according to the New York Post. Among the five victims were four children, cops said. The incident occurred 250 miles away from where he engaged in a fire fight with police.
Police believe he killed the family in the afternoon because they had reports that they were seen earlier in the morning, KHOU reported.
Lopez has been confirmed deceased, and no law enforcement officers were reported to be harmed during the exchange, Texas Department of Corrections said in a statement on their Facebook page.
Lopez was spotted by law enforcement driving a white Chevy Silverado which cops say he stole from the murder scene and took off on. When spotted by police, they say he gave chase, according to the New York Post.
During the chase, he pulled out an assault rifle and began firing at police, CNN reported.
“He fired several rounds at officers and was armed with an AR-15 and a pistol,” Jason Clark with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a press conference Thursday night.
Clark said authorities believe the firearms were likely stolen from the home where the family was killed.
Lopez had been convicted of capital murder, attempted capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was serving two life sentences for those convictions.
His escape on May 12 sparked one of the largest manhunts in the Lone Star State’s history.
Lopez was on the state’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List, and authorities offered up to $50,000 for information that would help toward his capture, according to CNN.
“He’s got a life sentence for a capital murder, where he killed a man with a pickaxe and he’s also gotten an attempted capital murder conviction for shooting a gun at a police officer,” Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Robert Hurst said during a news conference at the time of his escape.