Man wielding large knives killed by Garland police officer

A man armed with long knives was terrorizing people at a busy Garland shopping center Tuesday afternoon.

When police came to stop the knife-wielding suspect, a Garland officer shot and killed him.

Witnesses recorded video of the man walking in the road around 2 p.m. He was sometimes swinging the knives as cars passed off Interstate 30 and Bass Pro Drive.

Police say they'll be awaiting toxicology reports to see if there were in substances in the man’s system when he was shot and killed.

Garland PD says the officer who fired his weapon feared for his life when he fired the shots.

From inside a nearby gym, witnesses recorded video of the man's erratic behavior on the I-30 service road. At times, the man was swinging his two machetes at passing cars.

Jessica Valdez says the man came up to her office, too. Employees locked the door hoping he wouldn't break inside.

“We were panicking so bad,” she said. “We were like God what is going to happen next? I have my child here. I’m like oh my goodness.”

Minutes later, Garland PD says two officers showed up and confronted the man.

“Verbal commands were given,” said Garland Lt. Pedro Barineau. “The suspect would not comply and continued to march in their direction.”

Police say a 27-year veteran officer fired his gun hitting the suspect. It’s unclear how many times he was shot. The man died a short time later. Police haven't said how close the suspect was with officers, but said it was close.

“Close enough to where he was in fear for his life,” Barineau said.

Garland police say there is body camera footage of the confrontation. The officer who fired his weapon will be on paid administrative leave as officials investigate. Police says no bystanders were injured during the ordeal despite the dangerous behavior.

“This could have been incredibly dangerous. We have a person who is walking around swinging two large knives and not acting rationally, based on the reports. Swinging them at passing cars. Striking passing cars,” Barineau said. “It's fortunate nobody was actually walking around giving the person an opportunity to actually attack them in person.”

Police are waiting on the medical examiner to try and get an ID on the man. It’s unclear if he had past encounters with police.