Seattle Police officers shot and killed a man at the bus stop on E John Street Tuesday night after he refused to lay down his weapon.

Department spokesman Rich Pruitt says dispatchers took a call at 8:17 p.m. from a person who had had an altercation with the man as he crossed Broadway, near the bus stop. The caller had seen a pistol tucked in the man’s waistband, in the small of his back.

Witnesses also told police that the man — described as Caucasian of about twenty, wearing a black hat, white T-shirt and gray jeans — had been creating a disturbance at the bus stop. “Apparently he was stomping around and he made a verbal threat that ‘If police show up I’m going to shoot them,’” says Pruitt.

Police arrived at the bus stop, near East John’s intersection of Broadway, within 90 seconds of the call, according to Pruitt. “They confronted him near the bus stop, told him to drop his weapon and get on the ground,” says Pruitt. “He drew his gun and pointed it at the officers. We believe he fired rounds. They fired back, killing him.”

Pruitt says that it appears the man was struck in the chest with one of the bullets and that another bullet struck the muzzle of the gun — suggesting that it was pointed directly at the officers.

A man near the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the dead man was his friend and describes him as “scruffy, short, with black hair and tattoos.” According to the source, the man went by the nickname, “Booster.”