Crookston officers fatally shoot hatchet-wielding man, police say

CROOKSTON, Minn. — Police officers in the northwestern Minnesota city of Crookston fatally shot a man early Thursday morning who they say threatened them with a hatchet.

Police say the deadly encounter happened just before 1 a.m. near the Polk County Government Center off East Seventh Street and North Broadway. 

Officers were initially called to the scene on a report of a man "swinging a hatchet."

Officers used less-lethal weapons in an attempt to stop the man as he "continued to advance" at them before they opened fire, police said. He later died at an area hospital.

Police say this was an isolated incident, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been asked to lead the investigation.
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