Adreian Payne death: Alleged gunman believed shooting was ‘justified,’ reports say

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The man accused of killing former Michigan State basketball player Adreian Payne told deputies that he was protecting his family and believed the shooting was "justified," according to multiple reports. 

Deputies were called around 1:30 a.m. Monday to an area outside a Florida home, where they found Payne, 31, suffering from gunshot wounds. 

The college basketball standout, who also played four seasons in the NBA, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. 

Lyon-Villeurbanne's US center Adreian Payne plays with a ball during the Euroleague basketball match between LDLC ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne and Olympiakos Basket Balle in Villeurbanne, central-eastern France on Oct. 4, 2019. (ROMAIN LAFABREGUE/AFP via Getty Images)

The suspect, Lawrence Dority, 29, was arrested on a warrant for first-degree murder after the shooting. 

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Dority told authorities that he interpreted Payne's presence at his home as a threat, FOX 35 Orlando, citing an Orange County Sheriff's Office report. Dority said he saw Payne holding the "shape of a gun" before Payne allegedly told him, "I'll smoke you, bra."

Lawrence Dority (Orange County Sheriff's Office)

"This man tried coming to my house, he cut around my block, and he tried shooting me," Dority stated in the report. "He reached for his gun, I ran inside my house and I shot him." 

Dority told deputies his father dropped him off at the residence around 1:30 a.m. when they saw an unknown vehicle parked on the road. Dority, who went over to speak to the driver, "appeared to be intimidated based on the size