Mount Airy police announced Wednesday that no charges will be filed in an incident in which a man critically injured his brother with a hoe during a fight on Tuesday.

It has been ruled a case of self-defense.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Larry Mills Carter, 48, was in critical, but stable condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he is being treated for a puncture wound to the head.

The injury resulted from an assault/fight that was reported Tuesday around 5 p.m. at a home at 420 Nelson Hill Road which Carter shares with his brother, Charles Edward Carter Jr., 52.

An argument had ensued between the two men which escalated into a physical fight inside their residence, according to an investigation by the detective unit of the Mount Airy Police Department.

The dispute stemmed from “family matters,” according to Capt. Alan Freeman.

At one point during the fight, Larry Carter retrieved a large knife and began to pursue Charles Carter, who fled from the house.

In an effort to defend himself, the elder Carter then obtained what investigators described as a three-pronged garden hoe and struck his brother. That caused the puncture wound to the left-front side of Larry Carter’s head.

The investigation also revealed small lacerations on Charles Carter’s forearms which had been made by the knife, indicative of defense wounds.

After the incident was reported, members of the Surry County EMS and Mount Airy Rescue Squad responded to the scene to treat the injuries. Both men were questioned at the home by police.

Larry Carter subsequently was transported to Northern Hospital of Surry County and later transferred to the Winston-Salem facility. Charles Carter did not require medical attention.

Police said Wednesday afternoon that since the investigation showed the injuries to Larry Carter resulted from an act of self-defense by his brother, no charges will be filed in the case “at this time.”

That determination was made after a consultation with the Surry County District Attorney’s Office.