NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — A 14-year-old boy was fatally stabbed outside of a school in the Bronx on Wednesday, and a boy of the same age has been taken into custody and charged with murder.

The suspect, Noel Estevez of the Bronx, was charged as an adult with second-degree murder and manslaughter late Wednesday night, police said.

But as CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez reported, neighbors and family friends said the alleged assailant had been the victim of bullying, and one even argued that the teen who was arrested was in the right.

“It was for self-defense!” said family friend Marisol Perez. “It was self-defense what he did!”

Police said Estevez was arrested on allegations that he stabbed his classmate, Timothy Crump, around 3 p.m. Wednesday outside of I.S. 117 at 1865 Morris Ave. in the Tremont section of the Bronx.