diff --git a/src/http.c b/src/http.c
index c4a67319..f5d2a16f 100644
--- a/src/http.c
+++ b/src/http.c
@@ -381,11 +381,19 @@ static void _http_add_body_bytes(tf_http_connection_t* connection, const void* d
 			};
 			connection->request = request;
 
-			tf_http_request_ref(request);
-			tf_trace_begin(connection->http->trace, connection->trace_name ? connection->trace_name : "http");
-			connection->callback(request);
-			tf_trace_end(connection->http->trace);
-			tf_http_request_unref(request);
+			if (!connection->http->is_shutting_down)
+			{
+				tf_http_request_ref(request);
+				tf_trace_begin(connection->http->trace, connection->trace_name ? connection->trace_name : "http");
+				connection->callback(request);
+				tf_trace_end(connection->http->trace);
+				tf_http_request_unref(request);
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				const char* k_payload = tf_http_status_text(503);
+				tf_http_respond(request, 503, NULL, 0, k_payload, strlen(k_payload));
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -784,6 +792,8 @@ const char* tf_http_status_text(int status)
 		return "File not found";
 	case 500:
 		return "Internal server error";
+	case 503:
+		return "Service Unavailable";
 	default:
 		return "Unknown";
 	}