A person has been shot and killed after a confrontation with police in Boston, according to media reports.

Massachusetts state police said on Twitter that officers responded to a report of shots fired on the Silber footbridge over Storrow Drive near Boston University shortly before 3pm ET.

A woman interviewed at the scene told the Boston Globe she saw a man holding a knife walking toward officers, who then shot him.

Two other witnesses told the paper that before the shooting, they saw a man without a shirt on running before being struck by a red van on a pedestrian path. He fell and kept running, the paper reported, with police in pursuit.

A WBZ reporter driving near the scene at the time of the incident saw a man running with a knife in his hand.

The area is on the southern side of the Charles river, near Boston University. A woman who answered the phone at the university president’s office told the Guardian they had not yet received full information about the incident.

A spokesman for the university directed all inquiries to the Massachusetts state police, who said they would not be releasing information at this time.



A campus advisory was sent to students warning to “avoid the area of Bay State Rd and Silber Way at this time. There is an ongoing police response in this area. There is no ongoing threat. You will be advised to any changes of the situation.”



Footage shot from helicopters over the scene showed a body on the bridge, covered under a tarp, and up to a dozen law enforcement officials standing nearby. Traffic under the bridge continued as normal.