A man with a combination pocket knife was shot and killed by police Friday night near the Hollywood Walk of Fame, police said.
Police responded to reports of a man with a deadly weapon at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue just before 7 p.m., police said.
Officers fired after seeing the man approach them while armed with a knife, said Meghan Aguilar of the LAPD. The man died in the hospital before 9:30 p.m.
A combination knife, similar to a Swiss Army Knife, was found at the scene.
Witnesses described hearing what sounded like "firecrackers" before realizing the sound was gunfire and watching crowds ducking and running away.
"I heard a series of four or five pops," witness Matthew Rojas said.
"It was very surreal," Henry Hodge said. "The cars stopped, the people stopped, and immediately people started panicking."
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One woman said a man ran into a McDonald's shouting that police shot his friend, who sometimes "liked to wave a knife to scare tourists."
A graphic photo from a witness showed officers standing over a man with guns pointing toward him as he lay in a crosswalk.
Patrick Healy contributed to this report.