Police officer shoots and kills armed suspect just outside the Republican convention in Milwaukee

Police officers shot and killed an armed suspect a mile away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Police from Columbus, Ohio, were involved in an 'officer involved shooting' just blocks from the Convention main stage, Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Steel confirmed Tuesday. 

Shots were fired by at least three officers patrolling on bicycles after the man turned to them with a knife, an official told the New York Times. The incident happened near a social services building in the early afternoon.

The officers were in the city to help with the beefed-up security for the event after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday.

More than 100 cops swarmed the scene near North 14th and West Vliet Streets just outside of the security perimeter after the shots rang out.

Witnesses told TMJ4 the officers shot the man in the back while he was walking across the street from a homeless encampment where he lived.

It followed a fight between two men who were armed with knives.

Columbus Police reportedly provided a 'Police Dialogue Team' of 13 officers to Milwaukee for the Convention The dialogue team, who wear light blue vests, were seen walking with protesters on Monday near the Convention center.

Their aim is to police protests while avoiding conflict. It was not clear if the officer involved in the shooting was from that team.

The shooting is not believed to be connected to the convention, but law enforcement is at a heightened state of alert in the aftermath of Trump's shooting. 

More than 4,000 officers from around the country are in Milwaukee for the convention this week.

More than 50,000 people are descending on Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week for the Republican National Convention in the wake of an assassination attempt on the Donald Trump.

A shooter hit Trump's ear during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday before being shot dead by Secret Service. One rally attendee is deceased and others are injured.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Trump decided he would still be going full steam ahead to Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention.

He officially will end the week as the GOP presidential nominee for the third time in a row.

The 2024 GOP Convention is at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Official events will are taking place starting around 6:00 p.m. each night from Monday, July 15 through Thursday, July 18.

Other activities will occur on the campus around the arena starting around 1:00 p.m. each day of the Convention and some closed-press meetings and gatherings will commence each day around Milwaukee.

By the end of the week, the Republican Party will officially name Trump as their nominee for president in November.

Fiserv Forum opened in 2018 and is the home of the Milwaukee Bucks professional NBA basketball team and the college basketball team the Golden Eagles of Marquette University.

The arena has a capacity of about 18,000 when set up for concerts.

U.S. Secret Service requires that protesters and others who intend to demonstrate at the Convention register and sign-up for the Demonstration Speakers Platform and Parade Route.

Those registered are required to remain in the designated First Amendment zone.

The Parade Route allows groups to move and march to express their views, while the Speakers Platform gives demonstrators a time slot for an opportunity to make remarks and speeches about their cause.

The platform and parade route are 'both within sight and sound access of the Republican National Convention,' according to USSS.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told Fox News Sunday after the shooting the day prior that 'in terms of the physical sense, the arena is set. The security is here.'

'We feel very comfortable that we're working with the Secret Service, we're working with 40 different law enforcement agencies in terms of what that security is going to look like,' he added.

During a press conference on Sunday, USSS said 'we're not completing any changes to our operational security plans for this event.'

'We're confident in the plans that we have and we are moving forward with those plans,' they added.