TWO Newcastle police officers were following a lead early on Good Friday, investigating a theft, when a chaotic scene unfolded - starting with a stabbing and ending with a man shot dead.
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The constables went to a property in Bishopgate Street at Wickham just before 8am where they were confronted by a man with a knife.
The man, who was still to be formally identified at the time of publication, stabbed the male constable in the back near his armpit, senior police say, and left a female constable with lacerations to her hands before he was shot by one of the officers.
Despite attempts to save the man, he died.
The officers on Friday afternoon remained in John Hunter Hospital but the prognosis was said to be positive for each of them.
NSW Police Northern Region commander Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told reporters outside Newcastle Police Station he had seen the constables - who he described as "fairly junior" and "very, very well regarded".
"They were sitting up and talking - [the incident was] obviously very distressing," he said.
"Policing is a dangerous job at times, there's no doubt about that. These two officers are very, very lucky to be sitting up alive and breathing after what was a very confronting and very dangerous situation.
"Police don't come to work looking to find themselves in these sorts of situations."
Assistant Commissioner McKenna said the officers arrived at the property as part of an investigation into a theft overnight, but he would not provide details about the stealing case.
It is not clear whether the man lived at the Bishopgate Street property.
Police said he was believed to be aged in his late 30s or early 40s.
A Critical Incident Investigation has been launched to look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
The inquiry will be run by the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad - the results of which will be independently reviewed.
A crowd of onlookers gathered near where police had cordoned off the street on Friday morning as they awoke to news of the violent start to the Easter long-weekend.
A nearby resident told the Newcastle Herald he heard a loud "bang" and within minutes police vehicles and ambulances had filled the street.
NSW Police Association vice president Ian Allwood told the Herald police were often called upon to put themselves in harm's way in the line of duty.
"A family is no doubt grieving the loss of a loved one, our thoughts and prayers are with his family," he said.
"Our police officers have also been seriously injured in this matter, just doing their job protecting our community in an extremely violent situation."
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