Escaped Texas Inmate Killed in Shootout After Family of 5 Found Dead

***UPDATE: A GoFundMe account has been set up for Collins Family members killed by the escaped inmate in Centerville, Texas.***

The hunt for inmate Gonzalo Lopez has ended, and a family of 5 has been found dead in their weekend home in Centerville, Texas.

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The gruesome, tragic discovery was made shortly before Lopez was killed in a shootout with police in South Texas late Thursday night, according to KBTX.

Victims of Gonzalo Lopez

KBTX is reporting that Tomball ISD has confirmed the five victims believed to have been killed by escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez were students who attended the Tomball district and their grandfather.

At a press conference Thursday night, TDCJ Chief of Staff Jason Clark said the Houston family was visiting their weekend home in Centerville, Texas. When no one could reach them, concerned relatives called authorities, who discovered the bodies of one adult and four minors at the scene.

***KWTX is reporting that Waylon, Carson, and Hudson Collins were siblings and Bryson was their cousin, according to the family’s pastor. Mark Collins was their grandfather.***

Gonzalo Lopez Death

Authorities in Atascosa County spotted Lopez in the Chevrolet Silverado stolen from the residence. A chase was followed by a crash, then Lopez got out of the truck with a firearm and shot at law enforcement in Jourdanton, Texas. Clark said officers returned fire, ultimately killing Lopez, who was armed with an AR-15 and several pistols.

No officers were injured in the shootout.

According to TDCJ, the family did not have any relation to the escaped inmate. Clark said the house the family was found in had been searched and cleared multiple times since Lopez escaped on May 12th.

Escape of Gonzalo Lopez

Lopez, who had been incarcerated at the Alfred Hughes Unit outside of Gatesville, was convicted in 2006 of killing a man along the Texas-Mexico border and was serving a life sentence for capital murder out of Hidalgo County and attempted capital murder out of Webb County.

He escaped from a TDCJ prison bus on Highway 7 west of Centerville on May 12th as they were headed to Huntsville for a medical appointment. Sixteen prisoners were aboard the bus, but no one else escaped.