One man is dead after being shot outside a residence Tuesday night on City View Drive after he and a woman went there to reportedly view the city lights, Shasta County sheriff's investigators said.

The 49-year-old man killed has not been publicly identified, pending notification of relatives.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the 12000 block of City View Drive around 7:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call about a possible battery and trespassing.

City View Drive is off Walker Mine Road between Redding and Shasta Lake and the house where the shooting happened is perched at the top of City View Drive, a narrow, winding road.

The property owner, identified as James Johnson, called 911 about five minutes after the initial call to request an ambulance for a gunshot victim.

Deputies and emergency medical personnel arrived around 7:50 and found a man lying in the driveway dead from an apparent gunshot wound to his neck and face, investigators said.

Initial reports from deputies say the man and a woman, 44-year-old Barbara Baldo, had arrived there to view the city lights from Johnson's driveway, which overlooks the city, investigators said.

An argument and fight between Johnson and the unidentified man escalated, causing Johnson to shoot the man, investigators said.

After interviewing witnesses, detectives said they learned Baldo and the man had arrived outside Johnson's home around 7:30 p.m. and had parked about 50 yards away from the driveway in a turnout.

Johnson contacted the couple and said they were trespassing and needed to leave, investigators said.

The men started to argue about the property being public or private, detectives said.

As the man started to drive away in a sport utility vehicle, he allegedly attempted to run over Johnson, detectives said.

The SUV's side mirror hit Johnson in the stomach and he swung his flashlight at the vehicle, breaking its rear driver's side window, detectives said.

The driver stopped and the fight turned physical, investigators said, adding the man placed Johnson in a choke hold. Johnson broke free after biting the man in the arm, according to detectives.

Detectives said Johnson ran back to his residence with the man chasing him and ripping off Johnson's shirt.

Detectives said Johnson then armed himself with a 12-gauge shotgun for protection.

The unidentified man then drove his SUV at a high speed up the driveway toward Johnson, his wife and another resident standing near the end of the driveway, detectives said.

The SUV skidded to a stop in a gravel portion of the driveway about 3 feet from where the three were standing, detectives reported. As the driver backed the SUV down the driveway, detectives said, he aimed at Johnson, who in turn fired one round of bird shot, striking the man in his face and neck.

Detectives believe Johnson was about 10 to 20 feet away from the SUV when he fired the shotgun.

Baldo, who was in the front passenger seat, was not injured. She was released after speaking with detectives.

Detectives said Johnson has been cooperative in the investigation and was released after providing a statement. Detectives said they expect to complete their investigation in the coming weeks and submit a case to the Shasta County District Attorneys’ Office for review of possible homicide charges.

Those with any information about the incident are asked to contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 245-6135 or at mcu@co.shasta.ca.us.