Update: May 31, 7:00 p.m. – Short video, Joy and Mourning, added. Watch as Seattle residents react to a murder-suicide with both raw sadness and a joyous celebration of life.

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Update: May 31, 1:00 a.m. – 18 more photos added.

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Today was a sad day for Seattle. A murder-suicide was the latest in a rash of gun violence that by May has already brought the total murders for the year past the totals for 2011 and 2010, both of which were 20. The city responded with a collective mourning that was very powerful, and even more powerful was the celebration of life that lasted late into the night – just across the street from the scene of the murders, Cafe Racer. See below.

 

Above: Two women embrace after the crowd released paper lanterns into the sky in remembrance of those killed earlier that morning.