A man armed with a gun was shot and killed by a Baltimore police officer early yesterday in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, authorities said.

The man, believed to be in his early 20s, was killed by an officer responding to a call of shots being fired in the 800 block of Bethune Road, according to Officer Troy J. Harris, a police spokesman.

"We're unsure what occurred next, but the officer said the suspect turned and pointed a gun at him and [the officer] fired," Harris said.

The officer fired one shot, Harris said, adding that the man did not fire at the officer.

Harris declined to release the officer's name. He also said police, as of yesterday afternoon, had not identified the suspect.

The officer will be placed on administrative duties pending the results of a departmental investigation of the shooting - a routine procedure, Harris said.

The shooting took place shortly after 3 a.m. in a neighborhood of mostly low-rise, two-story public housing units.