Spokane murder suspect hospitalized with gunshot

Spokane police said today they will arrest a 26-year-old man, currently hospitalized with a gunshot wound, for first-degree murder in the shooting death Friday of a man in Spokane. Brandon Mellon is under supervision in a Portland hospital, where he is being treated for a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the leg prior to being taken into custody in Pasco, said Monique Cotton, spokeswoman for the Spokane Police Department. Mellon is in critical condition. Detectives will request the murder charge from the Spokane County prosecutor, Cotton said. Once detectives receive a warrant, they will begin work to extradite and arrest Mellon, she said. Mellon is suspected of shooting and killing and man at an apartment in the 2200 block of North Astor Street. The victim’s identity has not been released. Detectives interviewed witnesses and determined Mellon was a person of interest in the homicide. They learned he was at a motel in Pasco and had accidentally shot himself in the leg. A gun was recovered at the scene. Mellon was taken to a hospital in Portland with critical injuries. The identity of the homicide victim will be released by the Spokane County medical examiner. Friday’s shooting occurred just before 10 p.m. at 2228 N. Astor St. Police received 911 calls indicating there had been a shooting there, and officers responded within two minutes and found the man deceased with a gunshot wound.