Terrifying bodycam shows moment police shoot and kill armed suspect just outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Terrifying body camera footage captured the moment Ohio police shot and killed an armed suspect just outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

The Columbus police, who were in Wisconsin to help with the beefed-up security for the event after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, were seen in the footage congregating at a parking lot less than a mile from the venue on Tuesday.

One of the officers on the scene was giving a briefing on the abortion protests outside the convention site, noting the two sides were 'butting heads with each other' and there was 'stuff directed towards the event,' when someone shouted, 'He's got a knife, yes he does.'

The other cops then turned around and spotted a shirtless man wielding two knives, and proceeded to run after him, yelling 'Hey, drop your knife, drop your knife.'

The man - who has since been identified as Samuel Sharpe Jr. - appeared to stop for a moment, before lunging at another shirtless man with knives in both his hands.  

The cops then opened fire, and Sharpe Jr. was pronounced dead on the scene.

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 the attempt on Trump's life over the weekend.

Columbus Mayor Anthony J. Ginther said police decided to release the body-worn camera footage in the interest of transparency, claiming that it 'shows that Columbus' officers acted in accordance with their training to prevent physical harm to a potential victim,' the Columbus Dispatch reports.

'Columbus officers were guests in Milwaukee, but they take an oath to protect and serve, wherever and whenever they are called to serve,' he said, adding  that the city will support 'a full and thorough investigation of the events that transpired in accordance with local policy and local law.'

'We continue to defer to the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team for further updates on the status of the investigation,' the mayor said.

As assistance to the Milwaukee Police Department, the officers from Columbus were required to follow its standard operating procedures on use of force. 

The five officers involved in the shooting have been sent back to Ohio.

If matters rise to the level of probable cause for a crime, it will be referred directly to Milwaukee police or an external law enforcement agency for investigation. 

Initial reports suggested the dead man was homeless, had been involved in a fight with another homeless man, and was a user of crack cocaine.

Witnesses said the man was known by the nickname 'Jehovah,' and lived in an encampment with dozens of other homeless people.

Shelly Sarasin, co-founder and director of Street Angels, said her outreach group goes to the encampment every Monday with mobile shower units.

Sharpe, whom friends said was a homeless veteran in his 40s, began using the shower in April and decided to use it just one day before he was fatally shot.

As he was leaving the facility, Sarasin recounted, Sharpe kept saying, 'I love you guys.

'We might be the last people he said that to,' Sarasin said, noting his death will impact the roughly 70 other homeless people in the area.

'He was a person. He was a human,' she said.

'This is more trauma on top of trauma for those who knew him and still live here.' 

The shooting happened outside the perimeter policed by the Secret Service, near a social services building in the early afternoon.

More than 100 cops swarmed the scene near North 14th and West Vliet Streets in the aftermath.

Inside the convention, the theme of the day was 'Make America Safe Once Again.'  

It came just days after a would-be assassin shot Trump in ear during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The gunman, Thomas Crooks, 20, was shot dead by Secret Service. One rally attendee is deceased and two others were injured.

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

He will end the week as the official GOP presidential nominee.

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 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.