Little Rock police detectives examine bullet holes in the wall of Eastview Terrace Apartments on East 13th and Geyer streets, where a man was fatally shot on Jan. 8, 2018. ( Benjamin Krain

The first confirmed homicide of the year in Little Rock, which left an 18-year-old dead, was ruled justified Friday, authorities said.

The Pulaski County prosecutor’s office filed the ruling, designating the Jan. 8 shooting death of Antwan Anderson as self-defense, Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley said. Jegley said that Arkansas law is "very specific on justification in use of force and deadly force."

Anderson fired shots at an SUV occupied by a 26-year-old and his 1-year-old child, the Democrat-Gazette previously reported. The driver of another vehicle saw Anderson shoot and returned fire.