Manhunt underway in Texas after inmate escapes transport bus
A manhunt was underway in Texas on Friday after an inmate stabbed a guard and escaped from a bus taking him to a medical exam.
Gonzalo Lopez managed to wriggle out of his restraints on Thursday and then slashed the officer driving the vehicle with a sharp unknown object, according to prison officials.
Jason Clark, chief of staff for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said it’s not clear whether Lopez gained control of the bus before it crashed around 1:20 p.m. on Texas State Highway 7, about a mile and a half from Centerville. From there, the 46-year-old, who was convicted in 2006 of killing another man along the Texas-Mexico border, fled on foot and has not been seen since.
Multiple law enforcement agencies on Friday continued combing the area off the interstate in Leon County. According to prison records, Lopez was most recently being held at a jail in Gatesville, more than 100 miles from where authorities were searching.
The vehicle, carrying 16 inmates, was en route at the time to Huntsville, KBTX reported. Lopez was being moved because he had a doctors appointment, prison officials said.
Authorities said none of the other prisoners escaped and that the bus driver’s injuries did not appear to be life threatening.
With News Wire Services
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