BOULDER, Colo. — A man armed with a machete was shot and killed by police Wednesday at the University of Colorado in Boulder after officials say he refused to drop the weapon.

The unidentified man brandished the knife in a menacing way during an altercation with another person in the parking lot of the school’s sports complex, then went inside a building, campus police spokesman Scott Pribble said.

Police confronted him and asked him to put drop the weapon, Pribble said.

‘‘He refused and it was at that time, for public safety, that shots were fired,’’ he said.

Pribble said he did not know the nature of the altercation in the parking lot, or whether the man was a student.

The university sent text alerts to all students, faculty, and staffers telling them to take protective action, but classes continued, school spokesman Ryan Huff said.

Following campus protocol, students weren’t ordered to go on a lockdown since they were in different locations on or off campus. It’s up to students to decide what actions they should take, including hiding or fighting if they confront a suspect, Huff said.

Associated Press