A 34-year-old man is dead and the preliminary ruling by McDonald County authorities is that his shooting was justified.

A 34-year-old man is dead and the preliminary ruling by McDonald County authorities is that his shooting was justified.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday to a 286 Chestnut Lane near Pineville residence that Prosecutor Bill Dobbs said is about a half mile north of the Route E intersection with the Arkansas state line.

Gavin Luke Meredith, 37, was out cooking in his yard with a couple of children when Dobbs said Bobby G. Sullivan, the alleged aggressor, drove up into the yard.

"He jumped out of his truck, even left the truck running, came straight to the property owner and began to assail him with fists," Dobbs said. "The property got away from him, hollering at him to leave. They were friends. They worked together in the past, so the guy was saying, 'Just get out of here, man; leave me alone.' And the guy wouldn't leave so the property owner tells the kids to go into the house."

Meredith followed his children into the house and retrieved a rifle and went back to the door from where Dobbs said he told Sullivan again to leave the premise.

"He refuses; the guy fires a warning shot into the air," he said. "The assailant still doesn't leave the property.

"The guy moves back into the back part of the trailer house, has the girls in a back bedroom, and the assailant comes through the front door, makes the turn down the hallway towards the bedroom,"

Dobbs said. "The property owner says, 'Stop or I'll shoot.' The guy doesn't stop, and in fact, it's described as charging him, the property owner shoots once and the guy drops and dies of his wounds."

At this time, he said all evidence corroborates the story of Sullivan, who used a military style rifle with .762 caliber ammunition, but continues to review reports and evidence to determine if charges are warranted.

Meanwhile, No charges have yet been filed in the early Saturday shooting of a man near Anderson.

Sheriff Mike Hall released a statement indicating that as deputies responded to a 1:23 a.m. call for shots fired at apartments located 10033 Missouri Highway 59 between Anderson and Lanagan the 46-year-old male was found walking up Hwy. 59 and was transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds to the left forearm and back of the left shoulder.

A female was taken into custody, and neither party was identified.

Sheriff Hall has been out of town for a sheriff's conference this week and no new information has been made available about the case.