36-year-old homeless father remembered for his kindness after Richland Uptown shooting

Family members and friends are asking for help after a 36-year-old father was killed at the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland over the weekend.

Michael A. Perkins was shot during a confrontation in an outside walkway about 4:15 a.m. Saturday, according to Richland police. Officers found him wounded and unsuccessfully tried to save his life.

It was unclear Monday if a suspect has been identified.

Steaven Perkins told the Tri-City Herald that his brother was a father of two and was well-known for his kindness.

"He was always trying to help people out in whatever way he could," he said.

Michael Perkins struggled for the past five years with a chronic mental health condition called schizoaffective disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity.

He suffered from delusions, which would leave him arguing loudly with himself and caused his homelessness.

"I have been letting him stay the night at my place when I was allowed to and doing my best to explain to him why he needed to keep up with treatment," Steaven Perkins told the Herald. His lease limited how long his brother was allowed to stay without him getting in trouble.

He said his brother was known to sleep in the breezeway at the Uptown center, a 1940's era shopping district with a variety of small stores and businesses.

The combination of his mental health issues made it difficult to get him to seek treatment. When he was able to get help, treatment facilities weren't able to keep him indefinitely.

"There are few words to describe how one can feel in a time like this," Steven Ball said on a GoFundMe he organized on behalf of the family. "The Perkins family will need help with the hard times to come. Help, I am asking from this great community."

"There are no answers at this time," Ball said in the GoFundMe. "I have no words myself, only hope that justice is served and the authorities solve this case quickly."

Saturday morning homicide A Richland Police Department news release on Sunday said officers were called about a disturbance and reports of gunfire.

Their investigation found a group of people were gathered in the alleyway of the Uptown center when Michael Perkins and another man got into a confrontation and several shots were fired, said in a news release.

The suspect then fled, the release said.

The breezeway is near Lee's Tahitian Restaurant on the Jadwin Avenue side of the Uptown Center.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, said Benton County Coroner Bill Leach.

Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333.