Seattle leaders join vigil for Seattle Center shooting victims

SEATTLE - Seattle leaders and community members joined a vigil for the people who lost their lives in a shooting at Seattle Center.

Gunfire erupted during the Bite of Seattle food festival on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of three people and leaving five others hurt.

Among those killed were 44-year-old Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, who died at the scene, and 56-year-old Ashley Whitehead, who later died in the hospital. The third victim, 19-year-old Junior Semo, was identified as one of the suspected shooters.

On Monday night, a vigil was held at the International Fountain in Seattle Center, led by Arron Murphy-Paine, the father of Amarr Murphy-Paine, who lost his life to gun violence outside Garfield High School in 2024.

What they're saying:

Murphy-Paine started the vigil by addressing the crowd, giving his condolences to all the victims and the families who are forever impacted by the tragic events of Sunday.

"I just want to give condolences to all the victims of gun violence that this city has experienced. I want to give condolences to the families that lost lives yesterday. The humans that were injured, the children that were involved, everybody," Murphy-Paine said. "They weren'tt doing anything that would cost them their lives but enjoying the Bite of Seattle."

Later, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson took the megaphone, expressing outrage over the situation and concurring with the crowd that more has to be done.

"This is not acceptable. And I see you. No father, no parent should have to bury their child," Wilson said, turning to Murphy-Paine. "This is not something we can keep let happening in our community. And I'm not here to talk about policies or programs, there's plenty of time for that. I'm here right now to express commitment, to express solidarity, to say that I stand with you."

Seattle police Chief Shon Barnes also spoke at the vigil, reiterating his dedication to protecting the Seattle community.

"I understand my role and my responsibility in the city of Seattle. And that is my commitment to you. To the family members to do better. To be better collaborators. To create more community. To create safer communities for our kids and adults to grow up in this amazing city. And all that it has to offer. I internalize everything. I take my job very, very seriously. I want you to know we are with you today. This police department is part of your community. And we commit to being better each and every day with the help and support of the people standing behind me," Barnes said.

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay got emotional while discussing the victims of the shooting, saying the two-year-old who was shot hit too close to home.

"We do have to imagine what it's like to not have one of your loved ones at the dinner table. We do have to imagine what it's like to run away during a time when you were supposed to be experiencing joy and instead experience terror. It's something that none of us ever deserve to experience," Zahilay said. "The moment I read a two-year-old was shot. It's tough man. We both have two year olds."

Dig deeper:

Additionally, the cousins of Ashley Whitehead, Michelle and Judy, spoke at the vigil about her life, which came to a tragic end on Sunday.

"She had a great sense of humor. Very colorful person. I would consider her an artist, a creative type and a free spirit. She loved the fredom that the state offered her," said Michelle Whitehead, a cousin of one of the victims.

"They were calling to tell me my cousin had been shot. And I just kind of went into a different state of mind, I guess an alternate state of mind. It just felt slow motion and not real. It didn't feel real until probably this morning. I had a few hours of sleep but it just felt like I was living in someone else's body, someone else's life. This couldn't be real. That the one time she came here, she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"This is not the way to do it. To take people's lives, this is not the way. This is a terrible travesty for a lot of people. And the people who passed away, the people that were involved, and then the trauma for the families, and then having this event and people being that scared, it's terrible. It shouldn't have happened at all," said Judy Whitehead.

Another community vigil will be held by the City of Seattle on Wednesday. More details about the second vigil will be released at a later date.

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