HARRISBURG- Harrisburg police solved 16 homicides last year, but in three cases, the killers were not punished.

That's because the Dauphin County District Attorney's office ruled the killings justified. The shooters legally possessed guns and fired to defend themselves, said Fran Chardo, first assistant district attorney.

In the case of 20-year-old Malik Mundy, he died in a May 10 shootout with a man he had tried to rob, Chardo said.

Malik confronted a 37-year-old man in the 31st row at Hall Manor just before midnight and pulled a .40-caliber handgun.

But the would-be-robbery victim had a .45-caliber pistol and was better trained in using it, Chardo said.

The men exchanged gunfire, with Mundy firing a flurry of rounds that missed the intended target. The 37-year-old man fired several rounds, hitting Mundy, Chardo said.

No charges were filed because the 37-year-old man had a concealed carry permit.

In another case, Reginald Carrier was shot during a domestic dispute at his girlfriend's home in the 300 block of Muench Street. Authorities believe Carrier was beating the girlfriend when "she felt the need to use deadly force," Chardo said.

Carrier, 35, died in the 10 p.m. incident Oct. 28. The 34-year-old girlfriend suffered injuries from the beating, Chardo said. Since the woman was in her own home, she didn't need a concealed carry permit.

In the third case, Steven Texidor, and five of his friends accosted the boyfriend of Texidor's former girlfriend about 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 in the 1200 block of Rolleston Street.

Texidor had a "beef" with the new boyfriend, Chardo said, and the group had previously said they were "going to get him."

During a beatdown of the new boyfriend, someone in the group pulled a gun, Chardo said. That's when the boyfriend pulled his legally carried gun and unloaded 14 rounds. Bullets hit Texidor, 26, and one of Texidor's friends, who survived.

The 25-year-old boyfriend may have been legally justified in shooting to protect himself even before the gun was drawn, but after one of Texidor's friends pulled a gun, "there's no argument," that he was justified, Chardo said.

A fourth case was ruled self-defense last year, after a homeowner shot Quincey Brown, a would-be-intruder. But the homeowner was charged with weapons and drug charges, in part because he did not lawfully possess the gun.