Fresno, CA – A 16-year-old boy fatally shot his father while trying to stop him from strangling his mother.

Javier Vera, 54, was shot at around 4:30 p.m. Oct. 13, according to KFSN.

Vera had been drinking with his 49-year-old wife when they got into an argument, according to Fresno County Sheriff’s Spokesman Tony Botti.

The verbal argument escalated into a physical fight, according to police. Then, Vera began to choke his wife.

The boy grabbed a gun and shot his father. After the shooting, theboy called 911.

The 16-year-old boy was interviewed by detectives, who determined the shooting was done to defend his mother’s life.

The boy was released and allowed to go back home with his mother, police said.

No arrests were made and police said they don’t plan to arrest the 16-year-old boy.

“It appears that the husband was at that time strangling his wife so you can imagine there can’t be anything more controlling than someone with their hands around your neck cutting off your air supply,” said Nicole Linder, executive director of the non-profit Marjaree Mason Center, a shelter-based, domestic violence program, according to KFSN.

Linder said Fresno County gets 7,000 calls every year to the police in relation to domestic abuse. She said domestic violence is about power and control over someone and it impacts more than just the couple.

“I hear a lot of people that think and want to pretend that kids don’t understand what’s going on in a relationship,” Linder said, according to KFSN. “But the fact is they see they hear they feel and there’s a lot of trauma that the kids are enduring when they’re in an abusive home. It affects everyone in our community and we need to stand up and take it seriously.”