A 5-year-old's birthday party took a grisly turn on Saturday after her family's dog escaped from the yard and was shot by an armed pedestrian.

Emily Martinez recalls hearing a gunshot after her dog Clifford jumped a fence during her daughter's party, The Denver Post reported. The family poured into the street and found a stranger, apparently walking his own dog, standing over the family pet, still brandishing a gun.

According to neighbors and guests at the party, the man who shot the dog was shouting that he was within his rights.

"I have a concealed weapon license," they recall him saying.

The animal was shot twice in the neck, and died after the family rushed him to a veterinarian.

Martinez also told the Post that the man pointed the gun at several people as they gathered around the fallen animal. In response, Martinez's husband ran inside to get his own gun, but by the time he returned to the scene the shooter was gone.

Martinez's husband said the man had taken walks by their house for several months and had previously complained about the dog's barking.