Magnolia Springs, AL – An Alabama homeowner fatally shot an intruder who allegedly barged into his home on Tuesday and threatened to kill him.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:10 a.m. on July 11 at a residence located in the Vernant Park neighborhood in Magnolia Springs, The Birmingham News reported.

Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies received a report about a burglary in progress and were responding to the scene when they were notified that the homeowner had shot an alleged intruder.

They arrived to find 54-year-old Noah Hastings lying dead in the front yard, WALA reported.

Hastings had been shot, police confirmed.

Investigators said the homeowner was unarmed when deputies arrived and that he was very cooperative throughout the ensuing investigation, The Birmingham News reported.

The BCSO said the homeowner was inside the residence with his wife, daughter, and his five young grandchildren when his neighbor, Hastings, showed up, according to WALA.

Hastings allegedly approached the back door and forced his way inside, then began threatening everyone, WALA reported.

“They were under the impression that he was going to assault or do harm to them,” BCSO Captain Andre Reid told the news outlet. “That was what they truly believed and so, getting him out of the house at that point was priority one for them.”

The homeowner brawled with the intruder and was ultimately able to force him out into the front yard, the BCSO told WALA.

The homeowner then grabbed his gun.

Capt. Reid said Hastings began destroying property out in the yard, so the armed homeowner headed out to confront him about it, WALA reported.

That’s when Hastings allegedly “picked up one of the items he had broken and held it up to our homeowner and indicated he was going to kill him,” according to Capt. Reid.

The victim then shot Hastings in an effort to defend himself and his family, WALA reported.

Deputies said the suspect lived nearby, but that he and the homeowner did not know one another.

The motive for the home intrusion is unclear.

The BCSO said the preliminary investigation indicated the homeowner had every right to use deadly force against his attacker, WALA reported.

“What we’ll do is we’ll keep compiling all of our information, all of our data. We’ll keep reviewing that,” Capt. Reid explained. “If something changes in the meantime, then we’ll change but until that happens, what we’ll do is just get all that information together, send that case off to the DA’s Office and the Grand Jury and let them review this death.”