St. Louis ? A large crowd has gathered at the site where St. Louis police officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man after a reported convenience store robbery.

The shooting Tuesday happened just a few miles from Ferguson, where a police officer’s fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, has touched off days of protests.

St. Louis Police Capt. Ed Kuntz says police responded Tuesday after a report of a robbery at the store. Kuntz says the suspect had a knife and refused to drop the weapon.

Police Chief Sam Dotson says the man was acting erratically and told responding officers to “shoot me now, kill me now.”

Kuntz says officers opened fire when the man raised the knife and moved toward them.

Kuntz says the suspect was black.