Shooting of Salma Hayek’s Dog Was ‘Justified,’ Police Say

Authorities say the fatal shooting of Salma Hayek’s dog by her neighbor was justified after the neighbor claimed he fired on the canine in defense of his own dogs.

The 49-year-old actress first revealed the news of the death of her 9-year-old dog, Mozart, on Instagram over the weekend, telling fans that Mozart was found dead on her ranch with a gunshot wound close to his heart. “He didn’t deserve a slow and painful death,” she wrote.

Mozart was under the watch of the caretaker of Hayek’s property near Yelm in Washington state when he and some of Hayek’s other dogs strayed and took off running toward the sound of barking dogs nearby, authorities said. A necropsy revealed Mozart bled to death after being struck by a pellet that traveled between two ribs and nicked a pulmonary artery.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that Hayek’s neighbor shot at the dog with a pellet gun after he found it fighting with two of his dogs in his garage. “There was no crime involved,” Lt. Cliff Ziesemer told TIME on Tuesday. “We determined it was justified.” The case was closed on Monday and will be sent to the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office for review. No charges were filed.

Hayek had “expressed her displeasure” with the police ruling after she was notified of their determination, Ziesemer said. She told her Instagram followers on Tuesday that she was “very moved” by those who reached out to her following Mozart’s death.