SEATTLE - A man who was shot to death after he reportedly attacked a stranger in the downtown Seattle retail core once served time in prison for setting fire to his mother's day-care center, records show.

Daniel Culotti, 25, was identified through fingerprint records after the shooting Saturday at Westlake Plaza.

The 52-year-old man who shot him had a concealed weapons permit and has not been arrested or identified. Police have said he may have fired in self-defense, and a decision on whether to file charges is up to the King County prosecutor's office once the investigation is finished.

Witnesses told police the older man did nothing to provoke the attack in which he was punched and kicked until he fell to the sidewalk, at which point he drew a .357-caliber Ruger revolver and fired one shot.

Judging by witness accounts, the older man "was not winning the fight" -- the other man "just starts attacking him, he's on the ground and a shot is fired," Officer Debra Brown said. "It happened pretty fast. Probably by the time anybody thought to intervene, it was already over."

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Seattle police say Daniel Culotti, 25, was fatally shot by his victim after Culotti began beating him near Westlake Center for no apparent reason Saturday in downtown Seattle's Westlake Park.

The older man was questioned and released, and his gun was kept by police as evidence, Brown said.

Culotti's troubles with the law began five years ago. Records show Culotti attacked his mother, Melinda Culotti, at the family's former residence near the Woodland Park Zoo in July 2001, then returned, poured gasoline on the floor of her house-turned-daycare and set it on fire. 

"She said he came in there pretty much raged and he hit her and went frantically looking for the gas can and sprinkled the gas and set it on fire," said Melanie Thomas, family friend, back in 2001.           

Bruce and Glyn Devereux lived down the street from the Culottis when the fire happened.  They said they will never forget what his mother said moments after she and the daycare children escaped. 

"She said at least now he can get the help he needs," said Bruce Devereaux.  "And it hurts to hear that he didn't get that help."  

Culotti pleaded guilty to arson and reportedly spent two years in prison, but his troubles didn't end there.  Jail records show he had been arrested three times this year for violating the conditions of his release.

Culotti's older brother tells KING 5 he was loved by his family and suffered from a mental illness that was beyond his control.  His mother, who now lives in upstate New York, said she learned of her son's death Monday and declined to comment to The Seattle Times.

The Devereauxs say it’s a tragedy for everyone involved, especially for Culotti's mother. 

"As a mom you love your kids no matter what and to just feel so helpless and hopeless about making things work out right," said Glyn Devereux.  "And this obviously didn't work out right."

 Police have not released the shooter's name in Saturday's incident, but KING 5 has learned he does have a permit for the gun and has had no major run-ins with the law. He has no address but picks up his mail at a downtown mission. 

The prosecutor's office will make the final determination as to whether this was a case of justifiable homicide.