Kennewick dad ID’d as shooting victim. Police searching for the gunman

A Kennewick father of five has been identified as the man shot and killed Monday morning along a neighborhood street in south Kennewick.

Travis Kitchen, 48, was shot multiple times about 9:30 a.m. on the 3000 block of South Jean Street, said Kennewick police.

Late Monday night, officers were still searching for the gunman they believe shot Kitchen. He was identified as Adam Paul Klei, 44, of Kennewick. He’s wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Kennewick police and Benton County deputies initially were called to the neighborhood to check out reports of a disturbance and a man in the street holding a gun.

Police Commander Aaron Clem said Kitchen and Klei knew each other.

They had a brief disagreement and Kitchen was shot. He was found next to the roadway.

Emergency crews tried to revive him but he died at the scene.

Public records show Kitchen lived around the block from Jean Street on West 27th Avenue.

Police used a K-9 police dog to search the area but the gunman was not found, said Clem.

Detectives then gathered enough evidence to develop probable cause to arrest Klei and a search warrant was served at his home on the 1100 block of West 53rd Avenue, said Clem.

He was not found but the car he was driving at the time was found and seized, he said.

“This was not a random act as Adam and Travis were known to each other,” Clem said in a news release.

Coroner Bill Leach told the Herald that an autopsy is scheduled Thursday in Thurston County.

This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 11:16 AM.