Clark County coroner IDs man who died Saturday in shooting

The man who police suspect was killed by his girlfriend Saturday inside the apartment they shared has been identified.

Brandon Payton, 33, died of a gunshot wound to his left arm at the Bella Vita apartment complex on the 5300 block of River Glen Drive, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. On Monday his death was ruled a homicide.

Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer on Sunday said that the woman, who is in her late 20s, told detectives there was a struggle before the shooting.

Just before 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the Metropolitan Police Department was notified of a domestic dispute. The couple “separated for a while,” Lt. Dustin Butler said at the time, before several more 911 calls came in around noon reporting that Payton and the woman were fighting again.

Among those callers was the woman, who had called to report that she was involved “in a physical disturbance and she had shot her boyfriend,” Spencer said.

Investigators interviewed the woman and released her because the shooting appeared to be a case of self-defense, police said.

Payton’s killing marked the 17th domestic-related homicide investigated by Metro this year, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal records.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.