A pre-dawn rampage on August 25, 2021, left 77-year-old Emil Robert Zlatich II dead. Deputies responded after a 911 call from the Zlatich residence on East Finley Road reporting that the caller’s father had been shot and that both the Zlatich home and a neighbor’s house were burning. Firefighters found Emil Zlatich’s body inside his burning home; he had been shot. Zlatich, known as Bob, was a lifelong Kennewick resident and the retired owner of Zip’s by the Cable Bridge.

Responding deputies found Zlatich’s son in the backyard with a gunshot wound. Investigators identified 43-year-old neighbor Ryan Kaufman as the suspect. Kaufman allegedly set fires at his own home and the Zlatich residence, then went to his parents’ Kennewick home and killed Daniel and Vicki Kaufman while attempting to set a fire there. He also set fires at two union buildings. After a police chase his truck caught fire in a West Richland parking lot; he exchanged gunfire with four officers and was later found dead inside the burned vehicle. Investigators have been working to determine Kaufman’s motive.

If anyone knew Emil Zlatich, his routines, or the neighborhood around East Finley Road, please share information that might clarify what happened.