Rochester police fatally shot man armed with ax

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man in Rochester was fatally shot by police early Saturday morning after he charged toward an officer with an ax during a traffic stop. 

The Rochester Police Department said the incident occurred just before 12:45 a.m. Saturday after police pulled over a van believed to have been involved in a robbery just hours before.  

Around 11:00 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to a report of a business being robbed on the 200 block of Broadway Avenue South. A man with an ax allegedly entered the business, took money and fled in a van. 

Police located the alleged van almost two hours later on Highway 63, just south of the Highway 52 overpass. During the traffic stop, a man armed with an ax got out of the van and charged toward the officer, who then shot at the man, according to police. 

Officials performed life-saving measures, but he later died from his injuries. 

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the officer-involved shooting.