SEATTLE — A man died Tuesday after he was shot by Seattle police officers responding to reports of an armed person walking near Martin Luther King Jr. Way in South Seattle, according to Chief Shon Barnes.

Barnes said officers were dispatched to the intersection of 42nd Avenue South and South Othello Street at 1:30 p.m. after a community member reported a person with no shirt on brandishing a firearm, walking toward MLK. Officers arrived within minutes and located the man.

“They tried to deescalate the situation … time was not on their side,” Barnes said. He added that officers attempted to negotiate with the man, but “if someone is brandishing a firearm and walking toward … an area of commerce … we want that person to put that weapon down as soon as possible.”

Barnes said the encounter

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