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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- The suspect in a fatal shooting at a local gay bar faces murder charges after being arrested at the airport while trying to flee Las Vegas.

Police said they arrested 50-year-old Tracy Dale Kauffman at McCarran International Airport as he was preparing to purchase  a ticket to fly out of Las Vegas.

The arrest came after authorities responded to an early-morning shooting at the Garage, a well-known gay bar on East Flamingo Road near the UNLV campus.

When authorities arrived, they found a man dead from apparent gunshot wounds. He was later identified as 29-year-old Phil Wells, a bartender at the business.

After his arrest, Kauffman was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on the charges of murder with a deadly weapon and burglary with the use of a deadly weapon.

Later, sources told Action News the suspect and the victim had a dating history that began in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Wells, the victim, worked for Kauffman at a bar in Knoxville when a romantic relationship began. When the relationship ended, Wells moved to Las Vegas for a fresh start away from Kauffman. Those close to Wells described his ex-boyfriend as jealous and called the breakup a "falling out."

It's unclear whether Kauffman came to Las Vegas for the sole purpose of unleashing his rage against Wells.

Now behind bars without bail, Kauffman faces his first court appearance for a 48-hour hearing on Wednesday.