The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has temporarily suspended transportation of inmates following the killing of a Tomball man and his four grandsons by an escaped convict.
Officials say a thorough review of transport procedures is underway.
Photo: TDCJ
Convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez, 44, escaped last month from a prisoner bus near Centerville as he was being transported to a medical appointment. He was later killed in a shootout with police, but not before allegedly murdering Mark Collins, 66, and four of his grandchildren - Waylon, 18, Carson, 16, Hudson, 11, and their cousin, Bryson, 11, at a ranch in Leon County.
The boys were students in the Tomball Independent School District.
“If it becomes necessary to do a transport such as releasing or an emergency medical appointment, additional security measures will be implemented,” the agency said in a statement.
State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) had called on TDCJ to stop transporting violent inmates on public roads until “failproof safeguards” were in place.
“While the investigation continues into exactly what happened with the recent escape and tragic murder of the five members of the Collins family, we must act swiftly to ensure no other Texan is in danger of losing their life or being harmed by an escaped inmate being transported on Texas roads," Whitmire said.
TDCJ said it was engaging outside investigators to determine how Lopez managed to free himself from hand and leg restraints while in transit, attack the bus driver, and cut through a metal cage in the bus before crawling out.