Police shot and killed an armed man in Old Orchard Beach who allegedly threatened people and pointed a gun toward officers.

The incident began just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when a woman called 911 to report that 38-year-old Christopher Harriman, of Limerick, was making suicidal threats and was armed with an AR-style rifle, a spokesperson for Maine State Police said. The woman also told police that he was threatening to harm others.

Police were told that Harriman was in a black Escalade at the Kennebunk rest area on the Maine Turnpike, but he was not there when state troopers arrived, said spokesperson Shannon Moss. When troopers and police from Saco and Old Orchard Beach later found Harriman, he led them on “a slow speed pursuit and evaded law enforcement temporarily,” Moss said.

“As he was failing to stop for law enforcement, he pointed the firearm out the window toward officers,” Moss said.

She deferred questions asking for more detail about the pursuit to the attorney general’s office, which is investigating the shooting as it does all police shootings in Maine. A spokesperson for that office also declined to provide more information citing the pending investigation.

Harriman then drove to the parking lot of Landry’s Shop ‘n Save in Old Orchard Beach, where officers tried to negotiate with him to surrender as he stood outside his vehicle, Moss said. When Harriman reached into his vehicle to grab his rifle and chamber a round, Moss said, he was shot and killed by Trooper Ryan Phillips.

Phillips has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol when officers use deadly force.

Staff Writer Morgan Womack contributed to this report.