hard to say why the murder rates are so low. seattle seems very, very attentive to crime issues and they try to solve them before it becomes a big deal. but just because the murder rates were low the past few years doesnt mean shit is all peachy. pretty sure petty crimes and simple assaults and robberies and all that have been on the rise the past few years
one thing i know for sure though is seattle doesnt like to see gun or gang violence, and they react strongly against it and demand it stop and something be done to stop it from happening again. so having this string of murders is a pretty huge thing in seattle right now. i know its not like other cities where they have 21 murders in a month and shit, but its a pretty big deal and everybody starts to pay attention and talk when the media starts talking about crime sprees and rising murder rates and all that. i know this particular case was just some nut-job with anger problems but the past couple weeks there have been drive-by shootings, innocent bystanders getting shot and killed, so people are really paying attention and demanding accountability and change before it gets out of hand