A man has been shot dead in a confrontation with police at a post office in Warners Bay, north of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia on Wednesday afternoon.
Police confirmed the man died at the scene after a police firearm was discharged.
An eye witness to the police shooting in Warners Bay has described the victim looking "distressed" in the minutes before he was gunned down.
The witness, who did not want to be named, was standing in the car park across from the post office when she saw a man "holding a butcher's knife to what looked like a staff member".
Police shot the man three times about 3.20pm on Wednesday.
''The guy who looked like a staff member kept his distance and at one point he had to run away, he didn't turn his back but he had to run to stop him coming towards him," the witness said.
She said her and a friend came across the scene and immediately called the police.
"There was no one else around and my friend, who I was with, said you have to call the police," she told the Newcastle Herald.
"Two guys came up and tried to stop it, they were telling the guy to put the knife down but he wouldn't.
"He looked really distressed. One hand was holding the knife and the other was kind of covering his face. Like he had his head in his hands. But he was wearing sunglasses the whole time."
Officers from Lake Macquarie Local Area Command were called to the scene and confronted the man.
The witness said that police arrived within four minutes, and fired three shots at the man when he refused to put down the knife.
"Two police officers rocked up and got out, they were holding their guns up and yelling at him to put the knife down but he still wouldn't," she said.
"Then he came at the police with the knife. He didn't run, but he came at them, and they just shot him three times," she said.
It is understood the man was a former postal work at the post office.
A critical incident team apart of the NSW Police will now investigate all circumstances surrounding the incident including the actions of the police.