Police shoot man dead near Ferguson protest

Police in Missouri have shot dead a man armed with a knife amid a major escalation in tensions over last week's killing of an unarmed teenager.

Police said they came under "heavy gunfire" and arrested more than 30 people as racially-charged tension boiled over in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson.

The latest killing happened only a few kilometres from where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by police last week sparking the protests.

St Louis police chief Sam Dotson said in a tweet that officers had responded to a call and found an apparently agitated man, armed with a knife who yelled "kill me now" and approached the patrol.

more: Police shoot man dead near Ferguson protest

Police in Missouri have shot dead a man armed with a knife amid a major escalation in tensions over last week's killing of an unarmed teenager.

Police said they came under "heavy gunfire" and arrested more than 30 people as racially-charged tension boiled over in the St Louis suburb of Ferguson.

The latest killing happened only a few kilometres from where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by police last week sparking the protests.

St Louis police chief Sam Dotson said in a tweet that officers had responded to a call and found an apparently agitated man, armed with a knife who yelled "kill me now" and approached the patrol.