A man who police said was carrying a knife or knives was shot and killed by Seattle police officers Tuesday afternoon near the waterfront in the Lower Queen Anne area.

Seattle Police Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette said the man had been threatening other people. Two officers responding to the scene about 3:20 p.m. chased the man down Elliott Avenue West toward West Harrison Street and “were forced to use deadly force” after initially trying to use less-lethal measures, Nollette said.

A Seattle Fire Department spokesperson said the man died as he was being put in an ambulance to go to the hospital.

Two weapons were recovered at the scene, Nollette said.

Nicole Gray, who was standing on a nearby pedestrian bridge when the shooting happened, said she saw officers chase the man south on Elliott before they shot him. She said she heard about five to seven shots.

“(I) just stood there in shock for a minute,” Gray, 33, said in a message to The Seattle Times. “(The man) was still on the ground when I left and started listening to the (police) scanner.”