A man has been shot dead by police outside the Westin hotel on Mary Street in Brisbane’s CBD.

The street was closed between Edward Street and Albert Street from 10am on Sunday, and motorists and pedestrians have been advised to avoid the area.

Queensland police said the man had allegedly stabbed another man on Mary Street about 10am.

Chief Supt Tony Fleming said the man approached a couple outside the hotel, and “and it escalated from there”.

He said the victims said the man was behaving strangely, and pulled a knife out of a bag.

The woman fled back to the hotel, but the man she was with was stabbed. Fleming said the pair were not from Australia, and didn’t know the man.

“[The man and woman] were visitors to the city.”

When police arrived on the scene, he was shot when he allegedly ran at the officers, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fleming said a 26-year-old man was taken to hospital but was discharged soon after with a broken nose, an injured lip and a cut to his back.

A guest of the Westin hotel told AAP she heard several gunshots, but thought they were fireworks.

“I came outside and I saw someone lying on the ground and (police) were performing CPR,” she said.

The incident will be investigated by the ethical standards command in Queensland police on behalf of the Queensland coroner, with oversight from the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Police will be relying on CCTV footage, they have identified the car of the man and they have said the motivation for the attack is not known, but he was known to the police.

The man shot dead was born in 1995, and was born in Australia, but Fleming declined to provide more information until his family had been notified.

Several crime scenes in the area have been established, and police have asked for anyone with information to come forward.