A man with a combination pocket knife was shot and killed by police Friday night near the Hollywood Walk of Fame, police said.

Police responded to reports of a man with a deadly weapon at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue just before 7 p.m., police said.

Officers fired after seeing the man approach them while armed with a knife, said Meghan Aguilar of the LAPD. The man died in the hospital before 9:30 p.m.

A combination knife, similar to a Swiss Army Knife, was found at the scene.

Witnesses described hearing what sounded like "firecrackers" before realizing the sound was gunfire and watching crowds ducking and running away.

"I heard a series of four or five pops," witness Matthew Rojas said.

"It was very surreal," Henry Hodge said. "The cars stopped, the people stopped, and immediately people started panicking."

One woman said a man ran into a McDonald's shouting that police shot his friend, who sometimes "liked to wave a knife to scare tourists."

A graphic photo from a witness showed officers standing over a man with guns pointing toward him as he lay in a crosswalk.

Patrick Healy contributed to this report.