Quick thinking, stern commands and a pepper-ball gun were enough to subdue a domestic assault suspect who was threatening suicide and wielding two knives on the Fourth of July, authorities said.

Roanoke police say they defused an ugly situation without resorting to deadly force, possibly saving the life of a man who had slashed himself in the chest before advancing on officers.

"The incident was resolved with limited injury to the suspect," said Roanoke police Capt. Curtis Davis.

It began shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday when police were summoned to the 1700 block of Wise Avenue Southeast for a reported domestic assault.

Police say officers found a man sitting outside and threatening to kill himself.

When the man refused to drop the two knives, police Sgt. Kevin Assenat fetched a pepper-ball gun from his vehicle and opened fire, striking the man in the arm and torso with plastic capsules that dispense pepper powder, the police said.

Still, the man moved on Officer A.L. Gwin, who ordered him to drop the knives and get on the ground, police said. He abandoned the weapons but kept coming, struggling with officers until they locked him in handcuffs, police said.

Charles Joseph Gillespie, 33, of Roanoke was charged with domestic assault. His accuser, a woman, complained of neck injuries and was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, said police Lt. Monti Lee.

Gillespie also was taken to Roanoke Memorial for self-inflicted cuts and minor injuries from the pepper-ball gun, authorities said.

The Roanoke Police Department has had pepper-ball guns since 2001. The last time a suspect was shot with one was in the fall, police said.

The nonlethal weapons fire up to 100 feet and use .68-caliber balls that are slightly larger than paint balls, Davis said.