Two Hempstead police officers shot and killed a man late Tuesday night.

Around 11:45 p.m., officers were called to a home for a disturbance in the Legendary Oaks subdivision off of Highway 290. When they got there, no one would answer the front door, so they went around to the back.

Police said they went to a side door, a 33-year-old man with a gun answered.

"The officers asked him to drop it," Hempstead Police Chief Glen Smith said. "He raised the gun, pointed it toward both officers, course the officers exchanged gunfire there."

The man was shot multiple times and died at the door step.

The Texas Rangers were contacted and are investigating the case independently, Chief Smith said.

Police said the man had been arrested before.

"Had been arrested by this agency I believe three times in the past," Chief Smith said.

The man has not yet been identified. Both officers have been with the department for at least a year, and both had prior experience before going to Hempstead.

"They are obviously upset, concerned and hate that anything like this happened," Chief Smith said. "They'll be, you know, placed on administrative leave for a week or so while this investigation is going on."