Police shot dead an armed man holding two women hostage in south China's city of Shenzhen after nearly two hours of negotiations failed, local officials said Saturday.

The man, 26, was in a stand-off with police in Shuiwei Village, suburban Shenzhen, after he robbed a house in the village but failed to flee before being discovered. He held two women in the house, threatening them with a knife and a gun-- which later was identified as a fake gun--as he tried to convince police to allow him to escape.

Police shot and killed the armed man at about 2 p.m., after negotiations broke down. Further, district procuratorators ruled the police action as legal following a field investigation, officials said.

The man, surnamed He, was jobless and came from central China's Hubei Province, police officials said.