Georgia Tech police shot dead a barefoot student carrying a knife late on Saturday night.

The student, 21-year-old Scout Schultz, who identified as gender non-binary, was seen walking toward police - who issued several warnings to drop what officers believed was a knife.

The tense encounter was caught on camera - in which the student can be seen walking closer and closer to the police officers and shouting 'shoot me.'

'Nobody wants to hurt you,' one of the officers can be heard saying.

Schultz was then shot once and immediately crumpled to the ground, screaming out in pain.

The student, who has been identified as 21-year-old Scout Schultz, was seen walking toward police - who issued several warnings to drop what they believed was a knife

None of the police officers involved have been identified, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into the shooting.

According to a press release from the bureau, the Georgia Tech campus police received a 911 call of a 'person with a knife and a gun' at 11.17pm Saturday night.

The release says Schultz was 'not cooperative and would not comply with the officers commands.

'Schultz continued to advance on the officers with a knife... Subsequently, one officer fired striking Schultz.'

The tense encounter was caught on camera. The student can be seen walking close and closer to the police officers and shouting 'shoot me.' 'Nobody wants to hurt you,' one of the officers can be heard saying

The release says Schultz was 'not cooperative and would not comply with the officers commands. 'Schultz continued to advance on the officers with a knife.. Subsequently, one officer fired striking Schultz,' the release said

The victim's parents are questioning why police used deadly force.

Schultz's mother Lynn told the New York Daily News Schultz was a 'nonconformist and very, very bright.'

She said Schultz had a 'lot of empathy for other people.'

At Georgia Tech, Schultz was president of the school's Pride Alliance, which is a student organization for LGBTQ students and allies.

Schultz preferred 'they' and 'them' gender pronouns and identified as bisexual, non-binary and intersex, their mother Lynne said

The student from Lilburn, Georgia, was studying engineering and had plans to go to grad school and eventually have a career in making biomedical devices.

Schultz, born male, preferred 'they' and 'them' gender pronouns and identified as bisexual, non-binary and intersex, Lynne said.

Non-binary means the individual does not identify as male or female.

Their father, Bill, wrote about the shooting on Facebook and said Schultz had a 'tiny knife.'

'[Police] didn't have to shoot [Scout] in the heart, but that's what they did,' he wrote.

The distraught parents are now considering legal options.

The Pride Alliance released a statement Sunday, calling Schultz a 'driving force' in the organization.

'Scout always reminded us to think critically about the intersection of identities and how a multitude of factors play into one's experience on Tech's campus and beyond,' the group said.

Saturday night's incident caused an emergency alert from Georgia Tech's Office of Emergency Preparedness - and students were urged to seek shelter.