CENTERVILLE, Texas (FOX 44) -BREAKING – Leon County Sheriff’s Office says escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez has died after being chased in South Texas.

According to TDCJ, members of the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office spotted him late Thursday evening and started to chase him. At one point, deputies put down spike strips and caused Lopez to crash. TDCJ says there was a shootout in Jourdanton and deputies shot and killed Lopez.

According to TDCJ, Lopez killed five people in Leon County near the area where he escaped last month.

While investigating leads inside the search perimeter, law enforcement agencies received a call 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 a grandfather and his four grandsons. 

TDCJ says the family is from the Houston area.

Preliminary findings indicate the suspect believed to be Gonzalo Lopez, entered the residence sometime on Thursday and gained access to several firearms on the property.

Investigators believe Lopez then assaulted the home’s owner, a 66 year-old male from Houston, and then attacked the others in the home, an 18 year-old man from Houston; and three male minors from Houston.

Justice of the Peace Judge Jack Keeling pronounced all five people deceased at the home. A GofundMe page has been set up by the victims family members.

Law enforcement says the five individuals were seen earlier Thursday, so they believe Lopez killed them later in the day.

A 1999 white Chevrolet Silverado, license plate DPV4520, was missing from the residence. It is believed that escaped inmate Lopez, took the vehicle as well as some weapons after the murders 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.

We will have more information as it becomes available. This investigation is active and ongoing.