Washington (AFP) - An escaped murderer suspected of killing five people while on the run was gunned down by Texas police, bringing an end to a three-week-long manhunt after the fugitive's dramatic escape from a prison bus.
Gonzalo Artemio Lopez, 46, was serving a life sentence for murder, when he escaped from a prison bus on May 12.
Three weeks after a search that involved local, state and federal officers -- as well as a $50,000 reward offered to the public for his capture -- police said late Thursday that Lopez was killed during a shootout with authorities.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) spokesman Jason Clark said that on the day of Lopez's getaway, he had escaped his restraints and sawed through a metal cage in which he was being held on the bus before assaulting the driver and fleeing.
Authorities became aware of his whereabouts after police were contacted Thursday by someone who had not heard from relatives who were visiting a vacation home in Centerville.
When police went to the home, they discovered the bodies of an adult and four boys -- three brothers and their cousin, aged between 11 and 18, as well as their grandfather -- and put out an alert for a Chevy Silverado pickup truck that was missing from the residence.
The stolen truck was located later that evening in Jourdanton, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Lopez escaped, authorities said, and was disabled with "spike strips."
Lopez, who was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun, was shot and killed during a gun battle with law enforcement, TDCJ spokesman Clark said.
"Those officers very swiftly shot and killed Lopez, bringing this whole ordeal to an end," he said, adding that it was "an absolute tragedy" that five individuals have lost their lives.
"We are very saddened that the murders happened but I will tell you that we are breathing a sigh of relief that Lopez will not be able to hurt anyone else," he said.
Massive manhunt
The shaven-headed and heavily-tattooed Lopez, a Mexican mafia gang member, was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for a murder committed with a pickaxe and kidnapping.
Lopez was being transported some 160 miles by bus from one prison facility to another in Leon County for a medical appointment when he escaped.
There were 15 other prisoners on the bus at the time, according to the authorities, and Lopez was being held in a special metal cage for "high-risk" inmates.
He somehow managed to free himself from restraints, escape from the cage and cut open a gate to attack the bus driver.
Lopez stabbed the driver in the hand and chest in a fight and took the wheel of the bus, authorities said.
Another prison guard shot out the back tires of the bus.
Lopez lost control of the bus less than a mile away and crashed it into a cow pasture.He fled into nearby woods.
He managed to escape detection until late Thursday despite a manhunt that involved hundreds of officers, helicopters, dogs, house-to-house searches and even agents on horseback.
