Police responded to a report of a man with a knife on the 13800 block of Oxnard Street in Van Nuys at about 1:30 p.m.
Initial reporting indicates the man was shot in the courtyard of an apartment complex.
The LAPD said a caller reported a man with an ax and knife was threatening workers at the complex.
The department said officers were talking with the man with the knife when they were confronted by another man with a gun. He was fatally shot by officers.
The incident was under investigation.
