Lieutenant Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety joined Fox News’ Outnumbered on Wednesday and offered new details about the shooter behind the mass killing of 21 people, mostly children, at an elementary school Tuesday, including how he had exchanged fire with an officer at the school before his rampage.

Kayleigh McEnany interviewed Olivarez on-air and asked, “I want to make sure I heard you correctly. This is new to my ears. The school police officer had a lone altercation back and forth with the suspect before he entered the school?”

“Right, Kayleigh, so the initial call after the shooter shot his grandmother. He fled in a vehicle, in which that vehicle crashed nearby the school,” responded Olivarez, who continued:

The initial call that came into the police department is there was a crashed vehicle and an individual with a rifle making his way into the school. At that point, prior to entering the school, that local police officer was able to exchange gunfire with that shooter.

But at that point, he was shot, unable to stop that shooter from going into the school. But again, just another act of heroism from this actual police officer that was there, just true bravery from all local law enforcement, state law enforcement, and federal partners as well responding to the scene. Goes to show you the intent from this evil shooter having no regard for human life.

“One final question. I only have a few moments here. With regards to the shooter, The Washington Post out with details about a troubled home life, self-harm, social media posts. Have you been able to independently confirm any of that?” Aksed McEnany.

“We have not been able to confirm that. Right now, our Texas Rangers are the lead investigative unit in this mass shooting. Any information that I receive, I receive from them. I have not been briefed as far as that information,” Olivarez responded.

“I know the stories going out there right now, information on social media. But that has not been confirmed by our agency. Of course, we have — we are working closely with the FBI, ATF, all the local police departments here with the schools as well trying to identify any motives or any indicators prior to the shooting,” he concluded.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin tweeted the new information after the interview, highlighting its impact on the debate surrounding the mass shooting:

NEW: Texas DPS tells me there was in fact a school police officer on campus at Robb Elementary who exchanged gunfire with the shooter and the officer was shot & injured. That is when the shooter ran inside the school, barricaded himself in a class, & began killing. @FoxNews

NEW: Texas DPS tells me there was in fact a school police officer on campus at Robb Elementary who exchanged gunfire with the shooter and the officer was shot & injured. That is when the shooter ran inside the school, barricaded himself in a class, & began killing. @FoxNews

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 25, 2022

The fact that there was a police officer already present on campus is a key detail in regard to those on the right who are arguing for more armed guards and officers on campus to prevent shootings. Gun reform advocates argue, on the other hand, that most local enforcement is not equipped to engage in a firefight with shooters carrying semi-automatic assault weapons like the AR-15.

Watch the full clip above, via Fox News

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