Man with knife shot and killed by Seattle police early this morning

Seattle police shot and killed a man brandishing a knife at a North Seattle motel shortly after 1 a.m. today.

The man, believed to be in his 30s, was repeatedly told to drop the knife and was Tasered twice, which didn't slow him down, according to Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel.

When the man refused to drop the knife and approached officers with it, he was shot by several officers, Kappel said.

The incident started when police received a call from a woman at 1:16 a.m. from the motel in the 12000 block of Aurora Avenue North, Kappel said. The 911 operator heard an argument in the background with a woman clearly in distress.

When police officers arrived, they heard the woman screaming for help from the motel room.

At one point, officers were sprayed with a chemical irritant while the woman screamed that the man had a knife, Kappel said.

Officers backed away from the motel door and knocked out a window to see what was happening inside and to attempt to rescue woman.

They saw that the man inside did have a knife. He was told to drop it repeatedly, but refused, Kappel said.

Officers used a Taser twice, but the man was able to break free both times, Kappel said.

When officers forced the door open, the man was still holding the knife, and he again refused to drop it. He advanced toward the officers and was shot multiple times.

Officers provided first aid to man until paramedics were brought in, but the man died at the scene.

Police interviewed several witnesses, some of whom had heard the woman screaming for help.

The woman, believed to be in her 50s or 60s, was not injured.

Four, possibly five, officers were involved in the shooting and have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine, Kappel said.

Jerry Flowers, a 54-year-old drywall contractor from Powell, Wyo., fell asleep with the TV on in Room 47 at Seal's Motel, two doors down from where the shooting happened. He was awakened by a dog's barking and stepped outside his door to see flashing police lights in the parking lot.

"I decided it was a good idea to get back inside," said Flowers, who arrived in town a few days ago to deliver his live-in girlfriend to her job on a cruise ship docked in Seattle.

Moments later, "I heard the police yelling, 'Drop the knife! Drop the knife!' several times," he said. "They told him multiple times to drop the knife and it was more than one voice. At least two or three of them were yelling at him to drop it."

Gunshots rang out. Flowers said he heard four or five shots in rapid succession.

"I kind of felt like diving under the bed after I heard all those shots," Flowers said. "I looked back out the door and could see the officers dragging the body down the steps into the parking lot. I heard them say something about getting the Taser out of him."

Flowers realized he'd met the suspect on Monday when the man walked by and asked if he could bum a cigarette. He described the man as at least 6-feet tall with sandy blonde hair and a stocky build.

"He happened to walk by and he told me his name but I don't remember it. He told me he was staying down there in his room with his woman," Flowers said. "He asked if he could bum a cigarette and I said, 'Take two, they're small,' and he said something like, 'Thanks dude.'"