A homeless man, Fritz Severe, has been shot and killed by a Miami police officer in a local park where up to 50 children were playing late on Thursday.

Severe was carrying a metal pipe and police said he was a threat to the children playing at the park. When the officer, named Antonio Torres, arrived on the scene, 46-year-old Severe reportedly refused to drop the pipe and pointed it towards the police. In response, Torres opened fire and killed Severe, a move that around 50 children witnessed.

Witnessed also confirmed that Severe had a metal pipe in his hands and refused to drop it when the officers asked, but they were shocked by the way the officer chose to neutralize the homeless man, local media reported.

'The kids were hysterical. They didn't know what was happening. They just ran,' witness Clarence Bonner told WSVN.

The homeless 46-year-old died shortly after arriving at hospital, becoming another name on the growing list of people killed by police officers in the U.S. this year.

The Guardian reported that the list surpassed the 500 mark in the U.S.