Law enforcement officers in Tennessee fatally shot a man wielding a box cutter on a major interstate Thursday afternoon following a tense 30-minute standoff.
The deadly encounter unfolded after a state highway patrol trooper spotted Landon Eastep, 37, seated on a guardrail on Interstate 65 in Nashville at about 2 p.m., WKRN reported, citing police.
When the officer tried to talk to Eastep, he “pushed away from the trooper and produced a box cutter,” Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said.
The trooper called for backup — and numerous officers from three agencies tried for about a half-hour to de-escalate the situation.
But nine of the officers opened fire when Eastep quickly pulled an unknown “silver, shiny cylindrical object” from his right pocket, Aaron said.
Eastep was struck multiple times and died at a local hospital.
Video from a witness obtained by WSMV captured the confrontation, and the moment the officers shot Eastep after he raised an arm.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the object was that Eastep pulled out of his pocket, but Aaron confirmed it was not a firearm.
The shooting is being probed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
With Post wires