A North Carolina man is at death’s door after being shot by a property owner during an attempted home invasion, police say. 

The Mount Airy Police Department said Joshua Murphy, 41, was at home Tuesday afternoon when Daniel Brown invaded his home through his front door armed with a handgun, the Mount Airy News reported. 

"Once Brown came through the front door, he was confronted by Joshua Murphy, who fired one shot, striking Brown in the neck," police said in a statement obtained by the newspaper. 

"Officers responded to the residence and located the homeowner, Joshua Wade Murphy…standing in the front yard of his residence armed with a shotgun," the statement added. "There was a white male lying in the front yard who had sustained a single gunshot wound to the neck." 

First responders took Brown to a local hospital, where he was last reported to be in critical condition. As of Friday, no charges have been filed yet in the case.