A man who ran at police with two large “chef-style knives” has been shot dead on a quiet suburban street on Sydney’s leafy lower north shore.

Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker said officers were called to Alexander Ave at Willoughby just before midday on Thursday after multiple reports a knife-wielding man was behaving erratically and had chased and threatened people on the street.

“The two large knives that he had … I would be describing as large chef-style knives,” she told reporters.

“He ran at police, one of the police officers then discharged their firearm.”

The man was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

He was known to police but Ms McCusker described his interaction with law enforcement was “quite minimal”.

Welfare support was being offered to the “shaken” officers and the dead man’s family, she said.

Police did not use a Taser and that decision would be probed by the critical incident investigation that was now underway.

The investigation would be led by the homicide team from the State Crime Command with oversight from the independent Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

Ms McCusker said she had not yet had the opportunity to view the officers’ bodycam footage of the incident.

“Yes I do plan to look at that footage,” she said.

– AAP