If Antifa can go on a rampage, why not an electrician? West Richland and other parts of the Tri-Cities area near Seattle, Washington, were terrorized by an hours-long active shooter situation. This bizarre incident involved multiple deaths as homes and businesses were torched. Along with miscellaneous mayhem. Apparently, someone decided to forget all about law and order.
A rampage of murder and arson
If you look the word “rampage” up in a dictionary you’ll see Ryan Kaufman’s picture next to it. The electrical contractor turned out the lights on his parents and also the beloved owner of a local restaurant. He shot another person, burned three houses, and set fires at two local union halls. All while leaving a trail of grass fires in his wake.
It seems he was just a tad upset with the way his life was going and was determined not to let it trouble him much longer. So, he settled his scores in style. The maniac went out in an electrically charged hail of glorious gunfire, as soon as cops spotted his truck.
According to police in Kennewick and West Richland, 43-year-old Kaufman “died in a shootout with police in West Richland.” They’re pretty sure on August 26, he “killed his parents and a neighbor and shot another man during a fiery rampage.” It’s pretty clear from the sequence of events and witness descriptions that Kaufman’s day started early.
The 911 call came in “just before 4 a.m. Wednesday.” Kaufman broke into the home of Emil “Bobby” Zlatich Jr., described as former owner of “Zip’s By the Cable Bridge in the Tri-Cities,” and shot him to death. Then he shot the man’s adult son before setting the home on fire. The grandson called the cops. When he went outside he saw someone running away.
According to Lt. Aaron Clem, with the Regional Special Investigations Unit, the caller had a good idea who the rampage suspect was. Their neighbor. Both his and his neighbor’s houses on the 21000 block of East Finley Road were on fire. The caller’s father was found “in the backyard of the home with a gunshot wound.” He was taken to Trios Southridge Hospital for emergency surgery then flown to Spokane for extensive treatment. He’s reportedly in “critical but stable” condition.
The body of the elder Zlatich “was later found inside the burning Finley home.” They share a driveway with the shooter. Police had an idea he might be involved because the “neighbor’s house was also on fire and his truck was missing.” An orange Dodge pickup with a canopy. It was “driven by a man wearing a ballistic helmet and tactical gear and armed with an assault rifle,” so should have been easy to spot.
While the police were taking statements, “a series of eight grass fires also were reported along Highway 397 around 4:10 a.m.” indicating rampage on the run.
Kennewick fire got a call around 4:47 a.m., at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW Local 112 building followed by a fire at IBEW Local 112 training building. “Sprinklers inside of the building quickly contained the fire after it started,” Chief Chad Michael reports. That was the first building.
Give him some space
Soon the orange truck was spotted heading toward West Richland. “Officers were told to back off and ‘give him some space,’ and eventually the driver started to slow down on Van Giesen — the main street leading from Richland into West Richland.” It was looking pretty grim for Kaufman already. The rampage was still raging though.
“He reportedly was swerving and then flames erupted and the truck came to a stop near a carwash in the 4000 block of West Van Giesen Street. The driver was the only person inside.” Lt. Clem explains that “the driver shot several rounds from the truck about 6:30 a.m.” and that wasn’t a good idea. “Four officers returned fire, shooting into the pickup.” The truck, he relates, “continued to burn with the suspect inside.”
For safety reasons, it took half an hour before the fire department could get close enough to start putting the truck fire out. They had to get an armored SWAT wagon up next to it first.
After they thought they had seen all the rampage violence they could handle for the day and the suspect was safely dead, they got another call. “It wasn’t until noon when someone called police to report a problem at a home on the 4300 block of South Gum Street.”
When police arrived they found “two deceased adults located inside the residence were identified as Daniel Kaufman (75) and Vickie Kaufman (68) of Kennewick, WA. The preliminary investigation has shown that the Daniel and Vickie likely died of apparent gun shot wounds.”
They were the rampage suspect’s parents and their home had been set on fire too. No motive has yet been revealed for any of the day’s madness.