A 23-year-old African-American man was shot and killed by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers midday on Tuesday, less than four miles from the protests in Ferguson. The man was brandishing a knife, witnesses said.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson, the man entered a convenience store and stole two energy drinks. The store proprietor told him to stop, but he walked out. He later returned, stole a package of muffins, and walked back out. The store owner walked out and asked him to pay, at which point, he threw the items on the ground. Both the store owner and a local alderwoman called police.

A pair of officers arrived to see the man acting erratically, grabbing his waistband and holding a knife. The police got out of their car, and gave verbal commands for the man to drop the knife, which he was brandishing with an overhand grip “in an aggressive manner,” Dotson continued. He then approached the officers.

RT