Police Chief Cleveland Spruill.

Athens-Clarke County police officers shot and killed a man with a knife earlier today at an apartment complex off Macon Highway.

Three officers responded to multiple calls at about 12:30 p.m. of a man with a knife who was covered in blood and "acting erratically" on the 1000 block of Macon Highway, according to Police Chief Cleveland Spruill. He added that the blood was the man's own.

The man disregarded the officers' commands to drop the knife and began to advance on the officers, who retreated, Spruill said. When the man broke into a run, two of the officers fired multiple times, he said.

Paramedics treated the man, but he died. Police have not released his name, but Spruill described him as an Asian man in his 20s.

The man did not live at the apartment complex, but people there knew him, Spruill said. He was not a UGA student.

One officer suffered minor injuries that were treated at the scene, Spruill said.

The two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative leave. As with all officer-involved shootings, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation and will turn the results over to the district attorney. 

The shooting is the third by an Athens police officer this year.  In March, officers opened fire on a man who pointed what they thought was a gun at them during a standoff in a Westlake Drive parking lot. Officers also shot and killed a Hull Road peeping Tom suspect who answered the door brandishing a shotgun in April.