Prayers for victims: "Let there be peace"

For some, it was the words of the 23rd Psalm that offered solace: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

For others, it was the thumping, techno beat of Cascada's "Everytime We Touch."

Tuesday night, Seattle religious leaders climbed under the police tape to line up in front of the house where Kyle Huff shot and killed six people before taking his own life. They asked the 500 who clogged the small Capitol Hill block — a tightly packed crowd of young people with multicolored hair and Care Bear backpacks that segregated itself from those in business suits, windbreakers and jeans — to pray for Jeremy Martin, Melissa Moore, Suzanne Thorne, Chris Williamson, Justin Schwartz, Jason Travers and even for Huff.

About an hour before the service, roommates of the house at 2112 E. Republican St. finally were allowed to enter the house for the first time since the Saturday-morning slayings. They ignored the commotion and quickly piled bottles of alcohol, bicycles and bedding into the bed of a pickup.

As members of the Church Council of Greater Seattle set up their loudspeakers, the sweet, heavy odor of incense mixed with marijuana smoke. Of the 16 services for victims of violence the Church Council has held since 2004, this was "the most heartbreaking, because it involved so many people, all so young," said the Rev. Sanford Brown, Church Council executive director.

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Buddhist leaders spoke; members of the Seattle Zen Temple chanted and burned incense.

And at the end of the service, Brown led the crowd in kneeling to touch the ground and pray: "Dear God: Where there was anger in this place, let there now be peace. Where there was fear, let there be faith. Where there was pain, let there someday soon, once again, be laughter."

A small group broke into song, encouraging others to join in "Suzy's favorite song," referring to Thorne. Another group wearing brightly colored necklaces and bracelets blared "Everytime We Touch" — a favorite song, some said, of Schwartz's — and encouraged everyone to dance.

"That's what they would want," said Aisha Rydman, 15, of Kirkland.

Lauren Owen, 16, said her best friend, Thorne, would disapprove if Owen wore anything but bright clothing to the service.

"She loved color, she loved life," said Owen, of Bellevue, who was only feet away when her friend was killed. "That's what she was all about."

Owen added a tall, aqua candle and a photo of Thorne — with hot-pink hair and a mischievous smirk — to the massive memorial in front of the blue rental house. Since the shooting, flowers, poems, candles, poetry, CDs and even Reese's peanut butter cups have been added to the display.

Others disagreed with the levity and thought a more somber tone was more appropriate. It's a memorial service, said Elise Templeman, 19, a friend of Schwartz's.

Though electronic music blared at a smaller gathering at Volunteer Park earlier in the day, tears and far-away dazes were abundant.

Three men who live in the rental house quietly milled about, their heads hung low. One spun records on a stage, another wrapped his arms around friends and a third, Ian Gill, sat on the grass smoking.

Gill, 33, a cook at Cactus restaurant in Madison Park, said that even though he and Huff both attended the "Better Off Undead" rave at the Capitol Hill Arts Center Friday night, it wasn't until early Saturday that he met Huff, at the rental house.

Both Gill and Owen were in the kitchen when Huff started shooting. They ran into the backyard, then around to the front of the house.

From the sunny patch of grass she spread out on at Volunteer Park, Tristana Vincent recalled her own horror story.

Vincent, 24, said she was seated on the living-room couch when Huff opened fire.

She said that after the first gunshot blast outside, Thorne ran into the house through the front door screaming. The door opened again, and Martin collapsed in the doorway. Upon seeing Martin bleeding, Vincent said she and another woman jumped behind the couch, "scrunched up into a ball" and tried their best to be quiet. Vincent said she never saw Huff in the house, nor did she see him leave.

Gill said he and his roommates met Monday for several hours of therapy. Others who were in the house have simply sought out friends for counseling and support.

Gill praised friends in the electronic-music community for bringing him and his roommates food, clothes and other necessities because they had to flee the house with only the clothes they were wearing. At the Volunteer Park event, people brought plates of salami and cookies. A friend of the roommates' said hundreds of dollars worth of supplies have been donated.

"No matter what happens, everyone is drawn to each other," said Lara Schneider, who was among the nearly 100 who attended the afternoon event. "We're all nice people. We're trusting."

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com