The Deputy District Attorney in Cherokee County says the office will not file charges against an 18-year-old Tahlequah man who shot a pit bull with a bow and arrow then boasted about it on Facebook.

First Asst. D.A. Jack Thorp of Dist. 27 tells KRMG he received the report from Undersheriff Jason Chennault February 19 and conducted an additional investigation.

Caisen Green, 18, whose Facebook post and its accompanying photo triggered outrage -- and death threats from around the nation, and even several foreign countries -- claimed the dog charged him and he shot it in self-defense.

"I could not find anything to disprove his claim of self-defense," Thorp told KRMG Thursday. "I think that pretty much eliminated probable cause for arrest."

The story, including Green's boastful post on Facebook, went viral and resulted in death threats against the man.

Thorp told KRMG last month "one person is offering to put a rope around this kid's neck and drag him on the cement and laugh while they watch him die," he told KRMG.

Another wanted to hang Green by the neck and "stab him with a thousand knives."

Green's father burned the dog's body, Thorp says, claiming it "looked sick."

Green could have potentially faced up to five years in prison if convicted of animal cruelty.