Austin (Texas), Oct 29 (IANS/EFE) The US state of Texas has executed Miguel Paredes, a gang member of Mexican descent, for the murder of three members of a rival gang in San Antonio in 2000.

Paredes, 32, was pronounced dead after being executed with a lethal injection in Huntsville prison, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Tuesday.

His last words were for the families of the victims: "I would like them not to bear a grudge against me for my actions. I came here as a lion and I go as a lamb. I'm at peace."

The case goes back 14 years to September 2000 when Paredes, then 18 years old and a member of the Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos gang, killed three members of the rival Mafia Mexicana gang.

The victims were Adrian Torres, 27, his girlfriend, Nelly Bravo and Shawn Michael Cain, both 23.

Paredes and his two accomplices, Greg Alvarado and John Anthony Saenz, took the bodies to a rural area near San Antonio and then set them on fire.

Chicago-born Paredes was the prisoner to be executed in Texas this year, bringing the total number of executions in the state since the restoration of the death penalty in the US to 518.