Photos by Austin Dave and Elliott Cohen, Story by Perry Smith, KHTS

[KHTS] An armed man was shot and killed by one or more Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s deputies Thursday evening on Soledad Canyon Road near the Canyon Country Library.

No details about the suspect’s identity or the incidents leading up to the shooting were available from official sources Thursday night as the investigation continued.

Shortly after midnight Friday, officials at the SCV Sheriff’s Station confirmed that the suspect had died. They had reported earlier that no deputy was hit in the officer-involved shooting.

It’s not clear what type of weapon the suspect was carrying. Early reports indicated that that a man wielding a long metal bar approached a deputy in the 18600 block of Soledad Canyon Road around 8:22 p.m.

Then came a report from the field to the sheriff’s dispatcher: “998 … 998” (officer-involved shooting), with a “999″ in the mix (officer in distress). Then came quickly: “Suspect is down.”

Soledad Canyon Road was temporarily closed between Vilna Avenue and Sierra Highway as deputies cordoned off a wide area and questioned a number of residents in the Vilna area. Two sheriff’s helicopters hovered overhead.

Homicide detectives were called up to investigate; it’s standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting.

A woman getting gas at the corner of Soledad Canyon Road and Sierra Highway said a man who appeared to be under the influence approached her vehicle in a threatening manner while waving a 3-foot long metal bar shortly after 8 p.m., down the street from her home. She was unsure exactly what was in the man’s hand.

That incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. near Soledad Canyon Road and Galeton, about three blocks east of the gas station, she said.