Police are investigating the case of a Houston man who was shot in the neck by his neighbor. The neighbor allegedly became enraged upon seeing the victim beating his dog.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday morning when the victim, a man in his 20s, was reportedly seen beating a dog that was apparently barking all night long.

But as he was beating the animal, a neighbor, in his 60s, confronted the younger man over the cruelty.

The argument appears to have gotten very involved as, at some point, the pair parted ways and the elder man retrieved a shotgun.

The mother of the victim seemed to confirm to Houston’s KPRC channel 2 that there was a threatening argument or a physical confrontation before the pair parted and the elder man got his gun.

“My son attacked him in some form or fashion because they were talking about the dog. My son ran into the house. The guy that shot him ran into another area, got the shotgun and shot through my back window and shot my son in the neck,” the woman said.

A family friend said he hoped the incident might teach the victim a lesson.

“I hope it’s a good wake-up call for him because he was having problems with his mom all of the time and going through some things with her. I just hope it’ll be a wake-up call for him,” he said.

Police reported that the older man would probably not be charged because the shooting was an act of self-defense.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.