FAIRFIELD, Alabama - A man was shot to death while allegedly trying to attack someone inside a vehicle in the parking lot of a Fairfield apartment complex, police said.

Family members identified the man who was killed as Harvey Lee Ray Jr., Fairfield Police Chief Leon Davis said. The shooter's identity has not been released.

At 4:44 a.m., a man called Fairfield police and said he had just shot someone who was trying to assault him in the Wellington Place Apartment Complex parking lot at 6702 Forest Drive. The shooter told police he did not know the dead man.

Officers found Ray dead at the scene. The man who shot him remained at the scene and has cooperated fully with the investigation, Davis said.

The man's account of the incident, evidence at the scene and accounts given by other witnesses indicate that Ray was beating on the man's vehicle and eventually pulled him from the car.

The man fired a gun once into the ground in an attempt to scare Ray off, but Ray continued to advance on him. Afraid for his safety, the man fired at Ray several times and killed him.

No formal charges have been filed in the shooting. Evidence and statements from the shooter and witnesses will be presented to the District Attorney's office in Bessemer on Monday.