Mar. 22—Police say a man may have been justified in killing a 14-year-old boy after a group of teens threw a rock through his apartment window Friday night in Northeast Albuquerque.

The man who shot the teen was questioned by officers and released "pending the outcome of the investigation," according to Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman.

"While the shooting appears to be in self-defense, detectives will continue to investigate the incident," he said. "Detectives are also investigating the fight that led up to the shooting."

It was unclear if the man who shot the teen was involved in the initial fight and if the teen was the one who threw the rock.

Around 10:15 p.m., several teenagers got into a fight with residents at the Sandia Vista apartments at Tramway and Copper, Gallegos said. The teens chased the residents to an upstairs apartment, "where the fighting continued."

"Someone threw a rock through the window of one of the upstairs apartments," he said. The man inside the apartment then shot one of the teens.

Gallegos said the man told police during questioning that his children were in the apartment with him and "he warned the teens that he had a gun as they attempted to enter his apartment."

The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.