Patrol cars and ambulances are shown at the intersection of Third Avenue and Pine Street on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, following a shooting that left multiple victims injured and one dead in Seattle. Credit: KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer How a pandemic and social unrest possibly drove up Seattle homicides in 2020 By at 10:44 am Seattle Police logged 50 people who were murdered in 2020 â the highest number in 26 years. Experts think a perfect storm of elements from the pandemic to economic turmoil and social unrest could be the reason behind this historic peak. The first homicide of 2020 took place on New Years, when a 24-year old man was shot in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle.