A 24-year-old man shot and killed a teenage intruder Friday after the youth and some other juveniles tried to break into the his northwest Atlanta home, police said.

The shooting occurred around 1:15 p.m. at 1426 Hawkins St., off Chappell Road, police said.

The victim was 16 years old, said Lt. Keith Meadows, commander of the Atlanta Police Department homicide unit. His name was not made public Friday afternoon.

Meadows said several juveniles tried break in through a back door.

They had broken a glass window pane and were trying to kick in the door, said Sgt. Lisa Keyes, a police spokeswoman.

It was not clear if the suspects got the door open before the resident, who was home alone, grabbed a handgun from his back bedroom and shot fired at least eight shots, hitting the 16-year-old at least once in the face, Meadows said.

Several of the bullets struck the door, police said. The other suspects ran away.

Meadows said it appears that the man acted in self defense. His home had been burglarized two other times this week, and detectives were trying to determine if all the burglaries are linked.

Meadows also said the teenage boy who was shot might have been arrested recently by Atlanta police on an unrelated burglary charge.

The Police Department's helicopter crew and ground units were canvassing the neighborhood in search of the other youths, Keyes said.