The police shot and killed a 48-year-old man when he attacked them with a six-inch steak knife in an apartment in the Bronx on Sunday night, the authorities said. The man, Paul Goldreyer, first attacked his roommate with a knife, then lunged at officers who responded to a 911 call, the police said.

The police offered the following account: Mr. Goldreyer’s roommate called 911 around 11:20 p.m. and said Mr. Goldreyer was attacking him; the operator heard him telling the man to get back.

Two officers from the 49th Precinct soon arrived at the apartment on the fifth floor of 1545 Rhinelander Avenue, near Jacobi Medical Center, to find the roommate trying to fend off Mr. Goldreyer with a barstool.

“He’s sort of like a lion tamer, keeping his roommate at bay,” said Paul W. Browne, the chief police spokesman.

Four other officers from the same precinct arrived on the scene at some point. The police safely got the roommate out of the apartment.

The first two officers, in uniform, confronted Mr. Goldreyer from the hallway just outside the front door; he was inside the apartment. Civilian earwitnesses in the building say they heard the officers say “drop the knife” repeatedly. Mr. Goldreyer did not. Instead, he rushed toward them with it.

A male officer fired twice at Mr. Goldreyer. A female officer fired once. All three shots hit him — in the chest, abdomen and left side.

Mr. Goldreyer, who was unemployed, has 16 prior arrests on charges including resisting arrest, drug possession and criminal trespass, the police said. His roommate, who is 36, said that Mr. Goldreyer had accused him of sleeping with Mr. Goldreyer’s female companion. The men had lived together for only a few weeks.

No officers or other civilians were injured, the police said. [New York Times]