Man, 4 grandkids killed by Texas fugitive had gone fishing

Waylon Collins had just graduated from high school, and his younger brothers, Carson and Hudson, along with their cousin Bryson, had finished classes when the four loaded up their fishing rods to visit the family ranch.

Accompanied by their grandfather, the boys planned to enjoy the start of summer at the property in Centerville, Tex., that one family friend described as “a kid’s dream” — filled with ponds for fishing and woods for hunting.

But when relatives were unable to reach them, they called on a neighbor Thursday to check on them.

Mark Collins, 66, and four of his grandsons were found dead inside the home. Authorities believe escaped inmate Gonzalo Artemio Lopez, who was serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing a man with a pickax, killed them and fled in the farm truck. Lopez was killed hours later in a shootout with law enforcement officers.

The family’s pastor, Steve Bezner, said in a phone interview Saturday with The Washington Post that the victims had no previous connection with the inmate.

“For whatever reason, he somehow came upon them on this particular day,” Bezner said.

Law enforcement officers had been searching the area after the inmate broke free on May 12 from his restraints during a bus transport, stabbed the driver and fled. It’s unclear whether he was already inside the Collinses’ ranch house when the grandfather and the four boys arrived or whether he broke in while they were there. But when authorities arrived, a white 1999 Chevy Silverado was missing from the farm and, hours later, they found the inmate driving it about 260 miles away in Atascosa County, not far from San Antonio, authorities said.

He led authorities on a chase before crashing the vehicle and shooting at officers, who returned fire, police said.

The pastor said the Collins family is devastated, describing Collins, of Houston, and his grandsons, Waylon, 18, Carson, 16, Hudson, 11, and Bryson, 11, as well known in the community and “incredibly loved.”

“Mark was a very active husband, father and grandfather who loved his grandchildren dearly and loved to spend time with them outdoors,” he said. “The boys were all involved in a variety of community activities.”