A West Tisbury man who shot a deer that had been seriously injured in a car accident will not face criminal charges, a clerk-magistrate ruled Wednesday.

Edgartown police had sought charges against Rafael N. Louback, 36, for discharging a firearm within 150 feet of a highway in connection with the Feb. 29 incident.

According to the police report, Liana Cajado hit a deer with her car on Barnes Road and called her husband, Mr. Louback, to assist her. Mr. Louback then called police to report the incident and drove to the scene to help his wife.

When Mr. Louback arrived, he found the deer “flailing around,” and unable to move itself from the travel lane, responding officer Jake Sylvia wrote in the report. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to remove the deer from the road, Mr. Louback “said he then drew his 9mm handgun from his waistband and fired one round into the deer’s head,” the report continued.

In a two-paragraph ruling, Clerk-Magistrate Liza Williamson said that, in her opinion, the shooting was justified and that although Mr. Louback’s actions technically violated the law “it was the most unusual of circumstances.”

She noted that the deer had been “grievously injured,” that Mr. Loubeck’s firearm was legal and that he had arrived at the scene before police.

“Although it certainly behooved the Edgartown Police Department to seek criminal charges when there was a violation of Massachusetts General Laws, this incident arose from a unique situation,” she wrote.