Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office identifies man shot by deputies

Tthe Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office said deputies fatally shot 51-year-old Edinburg man Tuesday night after he lunged at authorities and threw a knife.

In a news release, the sheriff's office identified the man as Ruben Ollarzabal Chairez.

The sheriff's office said its communications division received a 911 call at 6:24 p.m. Tuesday from a woman reporting that her stepfather had stabbed her stepmother.

Deputies then went to the 6600 block of West Drive in rural Edinburg for an ongoing call for aggravated assault and domestic violence.

“Deputies arrived on scene and made contact with a man holding a knife and refusing to follow verbal commands issued by deputies to drop the knife,” the release states. “The officers urged the man to drop the knife and speak to them, but he refused.”

The sheriff's office said officers tried to subdue Chairez with a stun gun and rubber shotgun shells, but it didn't work.

“The deputies continued to give verbal commands when the suspect lunged at the deputies and threw the knife in the direction of the officers, causing them to fire their service weapons and fatally injuring the suspect,” the statement said.

The sheriff's office said officers provided life-saving assistance until help arrived.

“Shortly thereafter, emergency medical services arrived and pronounced the presumed deceased at the scene,” the statement said.

Investigators from the Sheriff's Office's involved shooting team, major crimes investigators and crime scene specialists arrived and examined the scene.

Witnesses told investigators that Chairez was upset for some reason and placed a knife against his wife's neck inside the residence, according to the release.

She was not injured and no deputies were injured, the release said.

The sheriff's office said Chairez was previously arrested for domestic violence on Feb. 28 after he threatened to kill his wife.

The findings of the investigation will be forwarded to the Hidalgo County Prosecutor's Office for review by a grand jury, the release said.

Per protocol, five deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation into policy violations.

The department said the deputies have extensive law enforcement experience ranging from one to eight years.