DPS: Texas escapee Gonzalo Lopez dead following police chase, suspected of 5 murders

LEON COUNTY, Texas - Gonzalo Lopez, one of Texas' Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, is dead after a shootout with police late Thursday, June 2. Lopez escaped Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) custody while being transported from Gatesville to Huntsville for a medical appointment about three weeks ago.

According to TDCJ, Lopez stabbed a corrections officer before the bus crashed and he was able to run away. Since his escape, a manhunt has been underway and a reward of $50,000 is being offered for information leading to Lopez's capture. 

The 46-year-old was serving a life sentence for capital murder out of Hidalgo County and attempted capital murder out of Webb County.

Gonzalo Lopez, 46 (Photo courtesy of Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

On June 2, someone contacted authorities concerned they had not heard from a relative staying at a weekend home in Leon County. Law enforcement found five bodies inside the home near Centerville, about 45 minutes from Huntsville. 

The victims are from the Houston area. They have been identified as four Tomball ISD students and their grandfather. Authorities suspected Lopez killed them, stole a truck and firearms. 

In a letter Friday, Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said grief counseling is available for students in need. She added those interested in the service should contact their campus principal. 

The manhunt ended approximately 250 miles from Centerville in Jourdanton, a city in Atascosa County south of San Antonio.

Jourdanton Police Chief Eric Kaiser says authorities suspected Lopez was trying to get to the border "via a major north-south highway from San Antonio." 

Jourdanton police coordinated with the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office and Pleasanton Police Department to cover all major north-south highways in Atascosa County. 

At approximately 10:15 p.m. Thursday, an Atascosa County officer spotted the murder victim’s stolen truck being driven by Lopez. A Jourdanton police officer deployed spike strips, disabling the vehicle just north of Jourdanton city limits on Texas Highway 16. Though all four truck tires were damaged, Kaiser says Lopez continued driving "on the rims for a few minutes, while shooting out of the truck toward officers who were pursuing him." 

When Lopez entered the city of Jourdanton, he lost control of the truck, hitting two utility poles behind a senior housing complex, according to police.

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Kaiser says Lopez exited the vehicle and again began shooting at officers, who returned fire killing him. No officers were injured. Jason Clark with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Lopez had an AR-15 and a pistol. 

"It’s an assumption at this point but given that he was in the vehicle that was taken from this residence, it’s likely that those firearms came from this residence," said Clark. 

The shootout forced some Jourdanton residents, like Fito Balderas, to shelter inside their homes. 

"He killed five innocent people. Right now he is burning in hell," Balderas told KSAT 12. 

Lopez was in prison serving a life sentence for capital murder. He was convicted of murdering a man with a pickaxe on behalf of a drug cartel.