Man shot dead by Tacoma police officers | 911

A knife-wielding man was fatally shot by two Tacoma police officers on Friday afternoon.

The incident took place at a bus stop outside the Loose Wheel Tavern in the 6100 block of Sixth Ave. just after 3 p.m.

Police spokesman Mark Fulghum said the two police officers approached a man armed with a knife and ordered him to drop the weapon. But instead of complying, the man raised the knife and advanced toward the officers, prompting them to open fire.

"It was a very short distance where the officer encountered the subject. The motion that he gave was over his head, toward the officers," said Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell, who said he believes the shooting was justified.

Brett, the kitchen manager at the Loose Wheel, said he saw a "homeless guy in our parking lot with a knife."

Brett described the man as "stabbing cars" with the knife when police were called.

"Police tried to get him to drop the knife," said Brett. "They asked four or five times for him to drop the knife."

A stretch of Sixth Ave. was closed around the scene for investigation.

The shooting victim's name has not been released, but he is said to be a man in his 50s. Witnesses said he'd just bought the knife at a nearby store in the hours before the incident.

The two involved officers are being questioned by investigators. One is said to be a veteran while the other has been on the force for just a few years.

Friday's was the third fatal officer-involved shooting the Puget Sound area has seen this week.

On Monday, John T. Williams was fatally shot by police in downtown Seattle. And an unidentified 23-year-old Tacoma man was fatally shot by police in Federal Way on Tuesday.

Also this week, a 27-year-old man died after a Pierce County deputy used a Taser on him in Spanaway.