Texas police kill fugitive who shot dead four children and their grandfather

Gonzalo Lopez, who had links to a Mexican drug cartel, had been on the run since escaping prison bus and stabbing driver

A convicted murderer with ties to a Mexican drug cartel killed four Houston-area children and their grandfather before police shot him dead on Thursday, more than three weeks after he escaped a prison bus in Texas and went on the run, authorities said.

Officers said Gonzalo Lopez, 46, who escaped from custody while serving two life sentences, killed the five family members - all strangers to him - and stole their truck while they were at their weekend cabin.