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Sergeant Shana Clark of the Texas Department of Public Safety provides an update on the shooting that left an Orange County man dead Tuesday. (screenshot)

A police chase in Orange County ended with an officer-involved shooting Tuesday morning. (EJ Williams/Special to the Orange Leader)

WEST ORANGE – The Texas Department of Public Safety provided insight into an officer involved in a shooting near a middle school that left a man dead.

Sergeant Shana Clark of the Texas Department of Public Safety in the Southeast Texas region provided an update on the fatal incident live on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, we are here because someone lost their life, but the police fulfilled their duties and saved lives,” Clark said.

The incident began just before 9 a.m. Tuesday when Bridge City Police received a report of multiple shots fired at multiple homes in Bridge City in a single neighborhood. Officers were told a white truck had fled the scene.

“Shortly thereafter, a white Dodge Ram pickup truck, reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed, struck a motorcycle officer as he and other officers were escorting a large load on State Highway 73 near Cow Bayou,” she said.

The officer suffered a serious leg injury, but his injuries are not considered life-threatening.

That’s when law enforcement began pursuing the truck, Clark said.

The truck drove to the intersection of West Green Street and North 15^Th road near West Orange Stark Middle School and crashed into a utility pole. It was determined that the truck appeared to have a flat tire at the time. It is not known why the truck crashed at this time.

Clark said the suspect, whose name was not released, exited the vehicle with a semi-automatic rifle and was ordered by law enforcement to put the weapon away and get to the ground.

The suspect reportedly placed the gun on the ground and was lying on his stomach, but as officers began to approach the man, he reportedly picked up the gun and pointed it at the officers.

Officers intervened and the suspect was shot. Life-saving measures were attempted, but the suspect was later pronounced dead.

A video posted on social media showed seconds before and during the shooting. More than two dozen shots were heard and several officers were seen pointing their weapons at a person lying on the ground. One officer appeared to be limping.

Clark said it was unknown whether the officer was injured by shrapnel or hit by a bullet; His injuries are not life-threatening.

The incident occurred near West Orange Stark Middle School. The West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District sent an alert to parents that the middle school was sheltering in place due to a police incident next to campus.

No information about the suspect was revealed at the press conference, other than that the man was from Orange County.

Clark had no information about the part of the incident that originated in Bridge City and deferred questions to Bridge City police.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, multiple agencies were involved in the incident, including the Orange County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office, the Orange County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange Police Department, the West Orange Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety Detective Colton Havard.