Quick-thinking police officers in North Carolina on Saturday fatally shot a man as he stabbed his 13-year-old stepdaughter who was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Officers arrived at the Charlotte home to find the man holding the girl at knifepoint. The girl's mother fled after the man forced his way into the home, police said in a news release. The woman managed to tell authorities that her daughter was still in the house with her stepfather.

Authorities in Charlotte, NC, are investigating a stabbing

Authorities in Charlotte are investigating a stabbing they say involved a stepfather and 13-year-old. (Charlotte Police Department)

Police said they tried to deescalate the situation, but the man, "without warning," began to stab the girl.

AUTHORITIES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GET BREAK IN 24-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE

"They were met with something that horrific, to see a 13-year-old getting stabbed, and they were left with no choice," said Johnny Jennings, the chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, according to the Charlotte Observer. "The motive to stab a 13-year-old is something that is beyond comprehension for us."

Johnny Jennings, chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Johnny Jennings told reporters the motive for stabbing a 13-year-old is something "beyond comprehension for us." (Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

The paper reported that authorities did not identify the suspect or the teen.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is investigating and the officer will be placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure after a shooting. 

North Carolina police car

Johnny Jennings, the chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, called the actions by the officers heroic. (Charlotte Police)

Fox 46 reported that Jennings called the responding officers heroic. The officer who fired the shot is distraught and upset that it came to this, but the department plans to get them whatever help they need, authorities told the station.

The Associated Press contributed to this report