By Craig Hill

The News Tribune

A knife-wielding man who said he wanted to commit “suicide by cop” pulled a knife and was shot and killed by a state trooper on Saturday morning on Interstate 5 near Lacey, trooper Brooke Bova said.

The incident resulted in backups on southbound Interstate 5 that at one point stretched 7 miles.

State troopers received a report about 6:15 a.m. of a distraught man who called 911 and claimed he wanted to commit “suicide by cop.” The man was on state Route 167 in King County at the time. Troopers started looking for the man and found him near mile post 120 on Interstate 5.

A trooper pulled him over near Carpenter Road. The man had a knife and approached the trooper while making threatening gestures and didn’t respond to commands from the trooper, Bova said. The trooper feared for his safety and shot the man, Bova said.

Attempts were made to revive the man, but the man died at the scene. The investigation is being handled by the multi-agency Thurston County Critical Incident Investigation team.

No information about the man or the trooper was provided.

Traffic is being directed to the right lane and shoulder and authorities are recommending people use other routes if possible. Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted at 10:47 a.m. that traffic was backed up in southbound lanes from Carpenter Road to Mounts Road (6.3 miles), while northbound lanes were back up to Martin Way (1.2 miles).