BAKERSFIELD  (AP) — Police in Central California shot and killed a man Wednesday afternoon after he splashed gasoline on a woman and tried setting her on fire, officials said.

The unidentified man appeared to be holding a gun, drawing the officer’s fatal shot, but Sgt. Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department said the object turned out to be a bicycle lock.

The man was shot once in the body and later died at a hospital.

Grubbs told the Bakersfield Californian that the man had been at the gas station for about three hours, acting erratically and knocking things over both inside and outside of the building.

The woman, who the man did not know, was at the station pumping gas when the man pulled the nozzle out of her car and splashed her, Grubbs told KERO-TV.

The man then tried setting the woman on fire with a lighter, but Grubbs said the woman was not hurt.

Upon arriving, the officer noticed the object in the man’s hand, Grubbs said. The officer ordered the man to drop it, and when he did not, Grubbs said, the officer fired.