A stabbing suspect who held his three-year-old daughter at knifepoint as a human shield during a hours-long standoff was fatally shot by police on Sunday.

Authorities were called to a home in Olympia, Washington, about 5:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET) and discovered a 27-year-old man suffering from life-threatening stab wounds to his face and body, Thurston County Sheriff's Office Chief Dave Pearsall told NBC News.

He said the suspect, who was the victim's cousin, "took his own three-year-old daughter hostage" in a bedroom.

According to Pearsall, officers looking through a window spotted the girl's father holding her in a "bear hug with a knife up to her."

Hostage negotiators and a SWAT team were called to the scene.

The three-year-old girl’s life was deemed to be in “imminent” danger and a SWAT team marksman fired a shot into the bedroom about 8:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. ET), officials said.

The child was unharmed but her father died at the scene. She was later released into the care of her mother.

Authorities said it was unclear what led to the initial stabbing incident. Police had not released the names of anyone involved by early Monday.