A man armed with a knife was shot dead by police in Australia's Victoria state in front of stunned motorists on the side of a busy freeway on Thursday. The shooting occurred on the Monash Freeway, which links the capital city Melbourne's business district with outer suburbs, reports Xinhua news agency.

It is believed that police were responding to reports of an armed individual and were in the process of negotiating with him when he produced a knife and advanced on them. After attempting both a tactical withdrawal and the use of non-lethal force, police were forced to fire two shots into the man's chest from which he died at the scene, a police spokesperson said.