A Texas prisoner serving a life sentence for murder escaped from a bus on Thursday after stabbing a driver while launching a search in a rural county between Dallas and Houston, authorities said.
Numerous law enforcement agencies searched an area along the Interstate in Leon County for Gonzalo Lopez, 46, who was convicted in 2006 of killing another man on the Texas-Mexico border.
There were 16 prisoners on board the bus, but no one else escaped, said Jason Clark, chief of staff at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He said Lopez overcame the driver, a correctional officer, but it was unclear whether Lopez had gained control of the bus or had simply gotten out of the way.
The driver’s injuries are not considered life-threatening, Clark said.
Leon County has about 16,000 residents and is about 50 miles north of the state prison headquarters.
Prison records show that Lopez was last detained at Gatesville Prison, more than 100 miles from where authorities are searching.
Other prisoners in Texas have also escaped from vehicles over the years. Among the latter were in 2019, when an MMA fighter suspected of killing two people escaped from a van and was missing for nine hours. Authorities said he was eventually found hiding in a trash can.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is searching for an escaped prisoner in Leon County. Gonzalo Lopez, 46, attacked a repairman on a transport bus and then fled the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/FTa2Dl8fQv
– TDCJ (@TDCJ) May 12, 2022
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