Grandfather and four ‘shining star’ grandsons identified as family killed by escaped inmate in their fishing cabin
A 66-year-old grandfather and his four “shining star” grandsons have been identified as those allegedly killed by prisoner escapee Gonzalo Lopez in Texas last week.
Mr Collins was named among the family of five killed on Thursday by Lopez, who was killed during a shoot-out in Jourdanton, Texas.
That occurred not far from a cabin where the bodies of Collins and his four grandsons were located earlier that day.
Lopez had been on the run since escaping from a prison bus earlier in May, and last week killed the family in their cabin in a wooded area of Leon County before fleeing in their stolen pick-up truck, police alleged.
He was found in the vehicle and confronted by police. A shoot-out then ensued.
The grandsons – who were identified Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and Bryson Collins, 11 – were all killed in the attack, authorities said on Friday.
Tributes to the “shining star” four have been paid by family in comments to multiple news outlets.
Andy Kahan, the director of victim services and advocacy for Crime Stoppers of Houston, told Friday’s news conferencece that the family’s killing was “absolutely one of the most gut-wrenching scenarios that I’ve dealt with and I’ve seen a lot and been through a lot”.
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