Deputies opened fire and killed a man whom they say failed to obey commands to drop a knife in the middle of a northwest Harris County street on Wednesday evening.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said an initial call came in at 7:16 p.m. about a man cutting or stabbing himself in the 3200 block of Palston Bend Lane in the Villas at Northpark neighborhood. That's located just south of FM-1960.

According to HCSO, deputies located the man impeding traffic and stabbing himself with a knife. Deputies then used verbal commands to disarm the man before unsuccessfully using "less than lethal force," which the sheriff's office didn't immediately specify.

Then, the man advanced toward the deputies, leading them to discharge their weapons, hitting the man, who died at the scene, HCSO said.

The sheriff's office said the man, covered in blood, was also holding a 3-by-2-foot wooden cross over his head, smearing the blood from his injuries.

No deputies were injured during the incident, and an investigation got underway into what unfolded.