Texas inmate who escaped prison bus also broke out of restraints, cage – New York Post
An inmate serving a life sentence for murder managed to escape from a bus transporting him.
Gonzalo Lopez, 46, escaped from a caged area of the bus designated for high-risk inmates. To do this, he broke free from his restraints and attacked the bus driver.
The officer driving the bus was stabbed in the hand and punctured in the chest, and Lopez allegedly tried to grab the driver’s service weapon but couldn’t remove it from the holster.
Once he was through with this gruesome attack, Lopez got in the driver’s seat and drove down the road. He briefly gained control of the bus before another guard shot out the back tires, forcing Lopez to flee on foot.
After the rear tires were shot, the inmate jumped out and ran into nearby woods. Authorities have increased the reward for information leading to Lopez’s capture to $50,000.
The TDCJ said the manhunt is the largest concentrated effort since 2004 or 2005.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice released new photos of the escaped inmate and canceled visits at 40 prisons starting Thursday.
Lopez is serving a life sentence for a capital murder committed with a pickaxe. Several agencies are involved in the search.
Want to find more details on this terrifying story? Check out the links to the news outlets listed below:
- Texas inmate who escaped prison bus also broke out of restraints, cage New York Post
- Texas officials release images of escaped killer Gonzalo Lopez in restraints on morning of getaway Fox News
- Texas inmate who escaped bus got out of restraints, cage Yahoo! Voices
- Manhunt in East Texas | New video shows search for escaped convicted killer KHOU 11
- Texas authorities share more details on inmate’s escape from bus ABC News
- View Full Coverage on Google News