Police look into self-defense shooting

LAS CRUCES (AP) - Las Cruces police are investigating an apparent self-defense shooting in a mall parking lot.

A 30-year-old man was leaving Mesilla Valley Mall with his girlfriend and two children Wednesday when he noticed a Honda traveling erratically. The man told the Honda's driver to slow down, and heated words were exchanged.

The man told police he armed himself with a handgun he is legally permitted to carry. As the family drove off, a Honda passenger threw a rock and shattered a window in the man's vehicle.

Believing his window was hit by gunfire, the man fired and struck a 20-year-old Honda passenger in the buttocks.

Minutes later, the fleeing Honda ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle.

An investigation is continuing, but police say no charges are expected to be filed against the man who fired his handgun.