An Alabama grandfather allegedly murdered his son earlier this week to save his 12-year-old granddaughter from abuse, authorities tell PEOPLE

An Alabama grandfather is accused of murdering his son this week to save his 12-year-old granddaughter from abuse, authorities tell PEOPLE.

Hubbard Junior Hall, 64, was taken into custody on Tuesday shortly after he allegedly shot his 41-year-old son, Mark, at a home in Baldwin County, Alabama, according to the Baldwin sheriff’s office.

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“Apparently the discharged bullet hit [Mark’s] rib cage and ricocheted into his chest cavity, where it caused severe bleeding,” Baldwin sheriff’s Capt. Stephen Arthur tells PEOPLE.

“He bled to death before he was able to get to the hospital.”

Investigators say the violence was sparked earlier that night after Mark, his daughter and the child’s grandmother were attending a baseball game in nearby Mobile, Alabama. (Mark coached his daughter’s softball team, officials say.)

On their way home, Mark received a phone call that “had something to do with his 12-year-old daughter and it upset him,” Arthur says.

“Whatever this individual told Mr. Hall, it upset him and he began to strike his daughter,” Arthur explains. “This assault or striking of the child continued on the entire drive home.”

Mark has custody of his daughter, but his relationship with her mother was not immediately clear, according to authorities. They have no record of Mark previously abusing his daughter.

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On Tuesday, once the family arrived at the grandparents’ home in Baldwin County, Hubbard got into a confrontation with Mark after his son said he was taking his daughter to his house. The child was staying with her grandparents, but her dad lived nearby, according to Baldwin County District Attorney Robert Wilters.

When Mark said he wanted to take the girl, Hubbard “intervened and said, ‘You are not going to take her with you. She is staying here with us,’ ” Capt. Arthur says, “and when [Mark] turned to get his child to leave, [Hubbard allegedly] shot him one time with a .25-caliber pistol in the left side.”

Law enforcement was called to the residence about 8:15 p.m. and found Mark on the living room floor. Hubbard was arrested and taken to the Baldwin County Corrections Center where he is held on a $100,000 bond.

He has not entered a plea or retained an attorney.

“It is definitely an unfortunate situation that this occurred,” Arthur tells PEOPLE. “It would have been a lot better if he [Hubbard] had picked up the phone and called law enforcement and let someone else deal with the situation.”