Police probe fatal shooting of 21-year-old by officers

An internal inquiry will examine why two police officers gunned down a 21-year-old man who was threatening his estranged wife and others with a paper cutter - the first fatal shooting by officers in two years.

The city's security chief has promised a thorough investigation of the killing of delivery worker Ho Sai-tung and says police guidelines allow the use of firearms only to prevent "severe crime".

Police said Ho was holding a security guard at knifepoint and was about to attack his wife and a policewoman when two officers shot him at Hong Nga Court, in Lam Tin.

A police source said the man, said to have been extremely agitated, ignored repeated warnings from officers before he was shot at three times from a distance of approximately one metre.

"The man suffered gunshot wounds and fell onto his wife and the policewoman," the source said. "An initial examination showed two of the shots hit his forehead and neck."

Ho was pronounced dead at the scene.