Hundreds of mourners gathered outside the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday to mourn the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
According to the local Fox affiliate, officials had asked that people not gather in the area, because the venue was hosting the Grammy Awards that evening. This seemed to do little to dissuade the mourners, who gathered throughout the afternoon and into the night to leave flowers, candles, and other tributes in a plaza near to the entrance to the Staples Center. The actual entrance to the arena, which has a statue of Bryant, was blocked off by fences because of the Grammys. The video billboards surrounding the arena displayed a tribute image of Bryant. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, buildings were lit up in yellow and purple, the colors of the Lakers.