BOULDER — A man wielding a machete on the University of Colorado campus was shot and killed on Wednesday morning after ignoring orders to drop his weapon — becoming the third person killed by Boulder law enforcement officers this year.

CU and Boulder police defended the use of deadly force inside the Champions Center on the north side of Folsom Field. Officers shot the man inside a stairwell after responding to a report of a man inside the building armed with a machete.

“Given the weapon the suspect was armed with, given the statement already made to our initial victim and given the nature of how he was maneuvering through the Champions Center, we believe it was in the best interest of the university that it was a deadly-force situation,” CU campus Police Chief Melissa Zak said at a news conference.

At 9:15 a.m., a patient who was being treated at the sports medicine facility at the Champions Center encountered the suspect in the parking lot outside the building, Zak said.

The suspect made harassing statements and followed the patient, who was not identified, into the building, Zak said. Officers from CU and the Boulder Police Department arrived and confronted the suspect on a stairwell between the fourth and fifth floor of the Champions Center.

“They ordered the individual to drop the machete,” Zak said, “and he did not drop it, at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred.”

A CU officer and a Boulder officer each fired shots. Both have been placed on paid administrative leave — standard procedure when officers fire their weapons — pending further investigation. Police released little information about the suspect, including his identity.

There were no other injuries as a result of the incident, police and CU officials said.

Update: The scene is all clear. Avoid the Champions Center area as law enforcement continues to investigate. #CUBoulder pic.twitter.com/zoxDQE3x8x — CU Boulder Police (@CUBoulderPolice) October 5, 2016

Zak said she believed the officers on scene were faced with a “life-threatening” situation.

“At this time, for me to second guess one of my officers and their decision to discharge their pistol would be unassuming and would be unfair to what they were faced with at that time,” she said.

Police and CU officials would not comment on reports that the suspect was making religious claims while menacing the initial victim.

Around 9:20 a.m., police reported “shots fired” and that the suspect was down.

The newly completed Champions Center, a centerpiece of CU’s push to renovate athletic facilities, houses the offices for the football coaching staff and other athletic department personnel.

“All of our student-athletes and staff are safe,” CU athletic director Rick George said in a statement. “We have safety protocols in place. When everyone received the campus alert, all responded accordingly, and the protocols were effective.

Boulder’s and CU’s “quick actions allowed for this situation to end without further incident.”

The CU football team was practicing on an outdoor field adjacent to the football field when the shooting happened.

“The kids didn’t know it was going on whatsoever while we were practicing,” coach Mike MacIntyre said. “We explained to them after practice a little bit.”

There was a heavy police presence on the campus Wednesday and several streets around the Champions Center remained closed.

No current threats to campus. UMC & Champions Center closed rest of day for investigations. Classes & campus operations continue as normal. — CU Boulder (@CUBoulder) October 5, 2016

Also Wednesday afternoon, witnesses reported seeing students run out of the University Memorial Center, CU’s student union on campus, as officers entered the building with tactical gear and assault rifles in response to multiple “active harmer” calls.

The 911 calls were later determined to be a hoax, the CU police department said.

“People elected to self-evacuate, which caused a lot of chaos for the UMC community,” Zak said. “Based upon that information, we did again send another rave alert to alert our campus community of a potential ongoing threat.”

Although there was determined to be no additional threat after the officer-involved shooting, the UMC remained closed throughout the day. The UMC and the Champions Center were expected to open for normal hours Thursday.

CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano defended the decision to leave the campus open as normal after the shooting, even though some professors elected to cancel classes.

“The actual incident was handled (Wednesday) morning by the Boulder Police Department and the CU Police Department,” DiStefano said. “I did not feel after I had received the information from Chief Zak and others that there were significant risks that really warranted the closing of the campus and made that decision not to close the campus.”

This is the third officer-involved shooting in Boulder County this year.

On Sept. 10 along U.S. 287, Boulder County sheriff’s Deputy Teri Javes, a 19-year veteran of the department, shot Adrian Joseph Shaffer after police received reports of a man with a weapon tucked into his waistband who appeared to be trying to fight with passing traffic.

Shaffer died from his injuries a week later at a Denver-area hospital. Javes remains on paid administrative leave while the countywide Critical Incident Team investigates the shooting.

In May, Boulder police shot and killed Bryson Fischer after receiving reports of a man standing in Boulder Creek and firing a gun into the water. Police fired 62 shots and hit Fischer 11 times. The Boulder County district attorney cleared the two officers involved in that shooting, which was described as suicide by cop.