Seattle will de-escalate and dismantle 'CHOP' autonomous zone: Mayor

"As a mother of a 19-year-old boy, I cannot imagine the pain of his mother and his family," Durkan said. While the mayor noted that a vast majority of the demonstrations have been peaceful and powerful, she said "the cumulative impacts of the gatherings and protests and the nighttime atmosphere and violence has led to increasingly difficult circumstances for our businesses and residents." "The gun violence unfolding at night is not only wrong, it also is undermining and distracting from the message for change that we are hearing in the street and in so many of the peaceful protests," she said. Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best agreed that "the entire structure and mission of the Seattle Police Department has to be reimagined and re-envisioned." Besides shootings, the police chief said there have also been reports of rape, assault, burglary, arson and property destruction.