Two Vicksburg children, ages 6 to 9, watched their 4-year-old Shih Tzu die Monday after a neighbor shot her with a BB gun in the 800 block of Patton Street.

At 3:22 p.m., the children told Vicksburg patrolmen they were walking the dog past the neighbor’s house when “he ran into the house, got a gun and shot Lady,” police Sgt. Sandra Williams said.

“I think the poor puppy was shot in the hind quarter,” said Williams. “He fired one time.”

She said the accused shooter told police the animal, valued at $550, routinely used his yard for a restroom.

The neighbor was charged with the killing of an animal and fined $596, Williams said.

Whether the children’s safety was jeopardized was not clear, she said.