Investigators have found the bodies of three children and two adults in a Texas home, which authorities believe are connected to a dangerous escaped inmate.
Authorities found the bodies after investigating a call from someone who had not heard from an elderly relative, according to a June 2 notice posted on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) website.
Authorities believe escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez is responsible for the five people’s deaths and may be driving a 1999 white Chevrolet Silverado with license plate DPV4520 found missing from the residence.
According to a statement made by the U.S. Marshals on May 25, Lopez escaped custody on May 12 when being transported on a prison bus for high-risk inmates in a rural area near Centerville, Texas.
The Marshals said Lopez escaped his restraints and a metal cage. Lopez then stabbed the prison bus driver and stole the bus. The bus driver’s wounds were not life-threatening, Jason Clark, chief of staff for the TDCJ, told CBS News.
No one else from the bus escaped. Lopez was last seen running into the woods off Highway 7.
“He’s crafty,” Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Robert Hurst told KHOU 11. “He’s done this before down in South Texas in Webb County, he hid out for almost nine days.”
“This is a very dangerous man. Back in 2005, he killed someone with a pickax. In 2004, he shot at an officer. If he has that device, whatever he used to cut through the door and also stab the officer, folks to need to be aware he may still have that on him,” Hurst said.
“Lopez is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia and has ties to the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio. He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not attempt to apprehend this fugitive,” the May 25 statement by the U.S. Marshals reads.
Authorities are offering a combined reward of up to $50,000 for information leading up to Lopez’s capture. Anyone with information on Lopez’s whereabouts is urged to contact TDCJ Office of Inspector General CRIME STOPPERS at 1-800-832-8477 or 936-437-5171 or call 911.
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Gary Bai is a reporter for Epoch Times Canada, covering China and U.S. news.
