From the Leon County sheriff’s office Facebook page, Friday, June 3, 2022:
On Thursday, June 2, at around 6 p.m., the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, along with officials from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the TDCJ – Office of the Inspector General and Texas Rangers (DPS) responded to a residence along Highway 7 near Centerville for a welfare check. Upon entering the home, authorities discovered the bodies of two adult men and three male children.
Preliminary findings indicate the suspect, who investigators believe is Gonzalo Artemio Lopez, 46, an escaped prison inmate and convicted murderer, entered the residence sometime on Thursday and gained access to several firearms on the property.
Investigators believe Lopez assaulted the home’s owner, a 66 year-old male from Houston, and then attacked the home’s other occupants, an 18 year-old male from Houston; and three minors from Houston. Justice of the Peace Judge Jack Keeling pronounced all five people deceased at the home.
Following the murders, investigators say Lopez took their 1999 white Chevrolet pickup truck and left the scene.
Thursday evening, he was spotted south of San Antonio by the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office. Gunfire was exchanged, and Lopez was killed at around 10:30 p.m.
At the request of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Rangers (DPS) are assisting with this ongoing investigation. No additional information is available at this time.
Thursday, June 2, 2022:
The Texas department of criminal justice announced state prison inmate Gonzalo Lopez died Thursday night during an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers south of San Antonio.
No law enforcement officers were struck by Lopez’s gunfire.
Lopez was driving a pickup that was stolen from a home west of Centerville earlier on Thursday. That was the location where a family of one adult and four children were found dead earlier in the day.
The victims, who lived in the Houston area, had arrived at a vacation home on Wednesday or Thursday.
As of 1:15 a.m. Friday, the Leon County sheriff’s office has not released the names of those who died.
Click below for comments from Robert Hurst of the Texas department of criminal justice, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
Statements from the Texas department of criminal justice:
While investigating leads inside the search perimeter, law enforcement agencies received a call (on Thursday) from an individual who had become concerned after not hearing from an elderly relative. Law enforcement officers responded to the residence and discovered the bodies of one adult and four children. A 1999 white Chevrolet Silverado, license plate DPV4520, was missing from the residence.
Law enforcement in Atascosa County located the stolen vehicle, disabled it with spike strips, and gunfire ensued. At approximately 22:30, the TDCJ received information that Lopez had been shot by law enforcement in Jourdanton, Texas, South of San Antonio. Lopez has been confirmed deceased, and no law enforcement officers were reported to be harmed during the exchange.