Raleigh police chief: Man holding knife shocked, then shot by officer on I-440

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said officers were dispatched for a crash on I-440 around 1:30 p.m. She said police also received multiple calls regarding the wreck that indicated a person was intoxicated.

Witnesses who were driving by told WRAL News that they saw a man walking away from a car involved in the crash. The man was acting erratically, witnesses said.

Patterson said officers on scene were notified about a man armed with a knife. Officers then approached the man, Patterson said, and saw him walking with a small child and holding the knife.

"[The man] grabbed a small blade - no more than four inches - and he starts waving it around, and that's when police noticed and said, 'Hey, put the knife down.' They told him multiple times to put it down," said Steven Valerio, who said he saw the crash and shooting unfold.

Patterson said a woman at the scene of the crash was able to get the small child away from the man. Video circulating on Facebook showed a young child who was on the side of the road when the shooting happened and people comforting him.

"The way he was grabbing his son ... he had the knife in his hand vertically and he was grabbing his son with both his hands," said Valerio. "I sincerely thought he was going to hurt his son."

Officers then told the man multiple times to drop the knife.

"A Taser was deployed to try and defuse the situation," said Patterson.

Video shared with WRAL News shows the man shocked, falling to the ground and then getting up again.

Patterson said as officers tried to take the man into custody, he "swung his knife towards officers."

"[Officers] tried to get the knife from him," said Valerio. "I could see one of the officers actually had their foot on the blade, but as soon as the Taser turned off, you could hear them trying to activate it again but it didn't work and he like started swing the knife around," said Valerio.

"I believe he shot him four times. I couldn't count but ... that was the end of it. It all happened extremely quick," said Valerio.

Patterson did not release the man's condition during Tuesday night's press conference, but said the man's family was being notified of his condition.

The officer that shot the man has been placed on administrative leave, which is protocol for a shooting involving an officer. Patterson said the name of the officer could not be released at this time.

The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct a criminal investigation into shooting, which is also typical for shootings involving law enforcement officers.

At least five cars were involved in the crash, according to officials. Sky 5 video from the scene shows a gray pick-up truck flipped on its side. Another car, a black sedan, is heavily damaged on its front end.