The 66-year-old man and four of his grandchildren, killed Thursday by an escaped prisoner in Texas at their family ranch, were remembered as an “amazing” and “close-knit” family.
Mark Collins, 66; Whelan Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and Bryson Collins, 11, are said to have been killed by Gonzalo Lopez, who is serving a life sentence for killing a man but was detained after a prison bus was hijacked in mid-May.
“What happened to the Collins family is indescribable,” said Harris County Sheriff’s Detective. David Crane, a close friend of the family, said, according to CNN affiliate KTRK-TV.
During Friday’s ceremony at a baseball field 30 miles from Houston, he called the youth “bright, shining stars,” according to numerous publications.
Steve Bezner, the family’s pastor, said Collins and his grandchildren were an “amazing family” that was “cohesive and deeply believing,” CNN reported.
Carson Collins, Hudson Collins and Whelan Collins were killed on their family ranch. Family Photo / Courtesy of Houston Northwestern Church via AP
Brezner told The Washington Post that the victims had not previously been in contact with 46-year-old Lopez, who is serving a life sentence for a 2006 murder on the Texas-Mexico border. He was taken to the Huntsville, Texas prison headquarters for a medical appointment when he escaped, officials said.
“For whatever reason, he somehow ran into them on that particular day,” Bezner said in a story released Saturday.
Whelan Collins had graduated from high school, and his younger brothers and cousin had finished semester and gathered to stay at the family ranch, according to the Washington Post.
“Mark was a very active husband, father and grandfather, who loved his grandchildren very much and loved spending time with them outdoors,” Brezner told the newspaper. “All the boys took part in various social activities – football, baseball, football.”
David Crane, a longtime family friend, said the victims were at their ranch in Centerville, where they often hunted and fished in the summer, NBC News reported.
The slain children attended schools in the independent school district of Tombol, a spokesman for whom he called the death “heartbreaking.”
“The loss of a student for any reason is heartbreaking, but the loss of four in such a tragic way is painful,” said in a letter the independent superintendent of the independent Tombol school district, Marta Salazar-Zamora. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of these beloved students and grandfathers.”
Bryson Collins finished the semester and tightened his grip on the family ranch. Family Photo / Courtesy of Houston Northwestern Church via AP
Andy Kahan, director of crime services for Houston’s Crime Stoppers, read a statement from relatives during a news conference, saying they were “devastated by the loss of our dear family members.”
“These precious people who have loved and have been loved by so many people will never be forgotten,” the statement said, according to NBC. “The impact on their family and friends cannot be overstated.”
Kahan said on Friday: “This is absolutely one of the most shocking scenarios I have encountered and seen a lot and experienced a lot.”
Gonzalo Lopez has escaped from prison and is suspected of killing a family near his last known location. Texas Department of Criminal Rights / AFP via Getty Images
Kahan also reportedly asked people to participate in an online campaign by GoFundMe to cover the funeral expenses of the slain Collins. GoFunMe raised more than $ 260.00 as of Sunday morning.
“This is the worst you can imagine,” Kahan said. “It doesn’t get any worse.”
In May, Lopez, who was serving a life sentence for murder, escaped from custody after stabbing the driver of a bus transporting prisoners and then fleeing on foot, authorities said earlier.
He managed to break free from his shackles and stabbed a correctional officer driving a bus full of prisoners in Leon County, sparking a fight that led to a car crash out of control. The driver was cut in the arm and Lopez managed to escape – despite the presence of two armed police officers on the bus.
A video from a mobile phone captured the moment Lopez crashed his prison transfer bus and fled into the woods, sparking an intense three-week chase.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has offered a $ 22,500 reward for information leading to Lopez’s capture while authorities search for the prisoner.
On Thursday night, Lopez was killed in a shootout in a residential neighborhood in Jourdanton, Texas. Officers shot the wanted fugitive hours after he suspected he had killed the Collins family – then stole a pickup truck to continue his escape.
Gonzalo Lopez is believed to be driving a white Chevrolet Silverado that has disappeared from the Leon County home where the victims were found. TDCJ / Twitter
Lopez was spotted by police driving a white Chevrolet Silverado, which he allegedly stole from the scene.
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