No charges have been filed in the fatal shooting Monday night of a man on Dancing Fern Road in Marion County, Tenn.

In what authorities say appears to be a shooting in self-defense, 24-year-old Brandon Shrum was killed by the homeowner at the property, Marion County Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said Tuesday. The homeowner was identified as Johnny Watts of 1040 Dancing Fern Road.

Dancing Fern Road is a dead-end, mostly one-lane road that leads off of Valley View Highway north of the tiny town of Sequatchie on the west side of the valley. A few homes are scattered along the road as it ascends the slope of the Cumberland Plateau.

Burnett said Shrum was living at a residence just a few houses away on Dancing Fern Road. The sheriff said there had been some "bad blood" between the two men.

Burnett said Shrum had gone to Watts' home around 10 p.m. Monday and was beating on the walls of his home with a shovel and making threats.

"At some point they have a confrontation and Mr. Watts said Mr. Shrum had a shovel and at one point he felt threatened and he used deadly force to protect himself," Burnett said. The weapon used was a 9-mm pistol.

Shrum's body has been sent to Nashville for an autopsy, Burnett said.

The sheriff said authorities had investigated some prior incidents involving the two men but nothing had ever become violent.

There were no other witnesses to Monday night's shooting, he said.

"Right now, Mr. Watts has not been charged with anything. He's been cooperative and gave interviews," Burnett said.

After consulting with the district attorney's office, "normally, we'll present it to the grand jury and let them decide if there should be charges," Burnett said.

Meanwhile, investigators await autopsy results, he said.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

This story was updated Jan. 2, 2018, at 10:26 p.m. with more information.