BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A shooting that seriously injured a man outside a Five Points South bar on January 1 has been ruled a case of justifiable self-defense, Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls said today.

"We reviewed the facts of the case and determined a third party was the primary aggressor and physically assaulted the person who fired the shot," Falls said.

That third person was a friend of Paul Thomas, a 29-year-old Tuscaloosa tattoo artist who spent 15 days in the intensive care unit at UAB Hospital as a result of the 12:30 a.m. shooting.

Thomas in January filed a petition for a pre-suit discovery against Black Market Bar, where the chain of events began, and the shooter, Center Point firefighter Dalton Teal. That petition is a filing that allows attorneys to issue subpoenas without a lawsuit having been filed.

Thomas's attorney in that filing, Frederick Erben, said he was unaware of the ruling. "We need to look into it because our investigation is evidently different from the police department's investigation," Erben said.

"I haven't seen the allegations so I can't comment at this time," said Jack Criswell, an attorney for the Black Market Bar.

Authorities said the incident began when Thomas's friend, whose name Falls did not release, grabbed Teal by the neck and had him either on the floor or the wall of the bar, witnesses told authorities. Employees of the bar sent Teal out one exit and the friend another.

Teal was sitting on a bench outside when Thomas, the friend, and a woman whose name was not released approached him. The friend then grabbed Teal by the neck, put him on the ground and said, "Are you going to disrespect me now," authorities said.

Teal pulled a gun, fired a shot, but struck Thomas instead of Thomas' friend. Thomas, authorities said, was approaching the two to pull the friend off of Teal.

"The shooter was acting in self-defense and used an amount of force allowable by law in that situation," Falls said.

"It is extremely unfortunate an innocent third party was shot in the process. However, the law regarding self-defense in Alabama protects the person who is defending themselves even when they shoot the wrong person in self-defense," Falls added.

Birmingham police on Tuesday turned over the findings of their investigation to Falls office.

Center Point Fire Chief Donnie West has said Teal is a model employee and has been on administrative leave pending the investigation. Efforts to reach West were not immediately successful this afternoon.

Updated at 5:08 p.m. to show a civil lawsuit has not been filed, but a petition for discovery has and to add comments from an attorney for Black Market Bar.