Man killed in officer-involved shooting identified

At 6:24 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to a 911 call from a woman saying her father-in-law had stabbed her mother-in-law.

When deputies arrived to the location at the 6600 block of West Drive in rural Edinburg, they made contact with a man holding a knife and refusing to drop it, a news release stated.

Deputies urged the man, later identified as 51-year-old Ruben Ollarzabal Chairez, to drop the knife and speak to them, which he refused, the release added. Deputies then attempted to subdue Chairez using rubber shotgun rounds and a taser; both of which were ineffective.

At one point, Chairez lunged at deputies and threw the knife in the direction of the officers. The officers then fired their weapons, fatally striking Chairez.

“The suspect continued to lunge at the officers therefore the officers had to use deadly force," Chief Deputy Mario Lopez said at a news conference Tuesday night.

Witnesses told investigators that Chairez was upset and placed a knife against the neck of his wife while inside the residence, the release stated. Authorities added that the victim had no injuries, as previously reported by family members.

The release added that Chairez had a previous family violence arrest dating back to February of this year for allegedly threatening to kill his wife.

As per the Sheriff's Office protocol, all five deputies involved in the incident were placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation into policy violations. The deputies involved have a range of experience from one to eight years of service.