KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - Hours after he was arrested for investigation of harassment of his estranged girlfriend and then released, a man was shot to death by police as he stabbed her in the neck, authorities said.

Two officers used chemical spray on Marlon St. Mark German, 34, who had a long record of violence, but the 6-foot, 250-pound man refused to back down and was "actually sticking the knife into the female was when the shot was fired," Police Chief Kenneth M. Hohenberg said Sunday.

"This would have been a homicide if the officers had not stepped in," Hohenberg said.

German died at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco an hour and a half after being shot Saturday afternoon. Abigail Alongi, 31, walked to an ambulance with the aid of paramedics, and was being treated for her injuries at the same hospital.

An initial review indicated Officer Frank McClain, who fired the lone shot, and Officer Kenneth Taylor Jr., who also was present, "did as they were trained and did as they were needed to do," Hohenberg said. "It appears the officers acted well within the scope of their duties, and fortunately neither of the officers was injured."

Both officers were placed on paid leave, a standard procedure in shootings by law enforcement officers, pending an investigation by the Benton County sheriff's office and an internal probe by the police department.

A downtown street in this Eastern Washington town was closed for two hours.

Nathan Flajole, who lives a few feet away from the scene of the shooting and said he was working on his porch at the time.

"Police cars, sirens, ambulances, fire trucks...we didn't know what was going on," Flajole said. "I got the baseball bat out and we sat inside."

German's record includes six felony convictions and nine misdemeanors involving heavy drug use, domestic violence and assault, and he had been served with a court order to stay away from Alongi, police said.

He was arrested early Saturday morning for investigation of harassing her over the phone, then was released about 2 p.m., Hohenberg said. The circumstances of his release were not immediately clear.

At 3:35 p.m. authorities received a 911 emergency call from a cell phone with "arguing in the background" and a woman saying "will you stop," the police chief said.

McClain and Taylor responded to a house where a third person said a woman needed help. When the two officers found the struggling couple with German on top, they did not realize at first that he was holding a knife as he threatened them as well as Alongi, Hohenberg said.

The officers radioed, "shots fired," at 4:01 p.m.

"It appears like they didn't have any choice but to resort to deadly force," Hohenberg said.