Police shot a bleeding man early Monday in the basement of a Duluth home after he refused to drop a knife, authorities said.

The 34-year-old man, whose identity has yet to be released, was taken by emergency personnel from the home in the 3200 block of Piedmont Avenue to Essentia St. Mary's Hospital. Police said he was in critical but stable condition.

According to police:

Officers were called to the home about 3:50 a.m. regarding a domestic disturbance involving a married couple. While en route, the officers were advised that the man had cut himself with a knife and was bleeding.

The officers heard the man say he wanted to die and had a half-hour left before he would bleed to death.

Numerous times the officers urged the man to come out of the locked room, and he refused.

Officers, accompanied by a police dog, forced open the door. The man refused orders to drop the knife, and one officer shot the man shortly before 4:15 a.m. No one else was hurt in the confrontation.

The officer who shot the man is a seven-year veteran of the police force. As is practice, he was placed on paid administrative leave.

Paul Walsh