How do we respond to terror? Initial worry for personal safety. “Should we go out to the country? How safe is St. Louis?” Then a pang of grief. The solemnity of the situation sets in and those attempts to lighten the mood after the initial news now seem totally inappropriate and out of place. We spend nights in front of the TV on CNN. There is panic and empathy, supreme love for the victims and deep hate for the suspects.

With a pressure cooker and a few explosives, two men were able to strike fear into an entire nation. The question of how and why a man could do something so disgustingly cowardly is for the talented investigators and police currently interrogating the suspects. The immediate response is not and should not be investigation. The immediate response is overwhelming empathy. The love out poured for the city of Boston was astounding and inspiring. From all corners of the country, messages of comfort from social media and vigils helped to comfort the city in the confusion and restore some semblance of sanity to the situation.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino announced the formation of the The One Fund, an organization that takes donations and seeks “to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.” In response, Twitter donated a promoted trend for #OneBoston, a way for the city to rally and support one another. That donation is no empty gesture, as brands routinely pay over $200,000 to reserve that space.

Other cities across the United States have offered comfort and love to the people of Boston in their time of need. Buildings in Boston and New York were lit up Monday evening in tribute to the victims of the earlier explosions. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was lit into an American Flag scheme to show support, and a projector was used to show messages of love and support on the Brooklyn Art Museum’s walls. And even the Chicago Tribune offered a message of support, referencing Boston’s proud sports traditions and teams in a full page ad.

Aside from empathy, enormous pride is placed in the first responders who risked their own safety to take care of those injured. Sports Illustrated honored some of those police officers who immediately leapt to help those affected by the bombing by including them on the cover of their latest article, a picture that has rapidly circulated around the internet.

President Obama took the time to share his admiration for the first responders during a speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner. The President said, “As I got the chance to meet some of the first responders in Boston, some of the police officers and volunteers who raced to help when hardship hit, I was reminded about why they do what they do. They don’t do it to be honored. They don’t do it to be celebrated. They do it because they love their families, their neighborhoods and their country.”

The love that the nation shows for the heroes and victims of this tragedy, is only matched by the disdain she feels for the men who caused it. The two Boston Bombing suspects were the subjects of almost universal hatred from all corners of the country. Social Media sites were overloaded with threats and promises that American law enforcement would hunt down and deliver justice to the men who orchestrated this destruction.

Cheers of “USA” could be heard on the night that the second suspect was caught after a widespread manhunt, and media anchors were sure to warn audiences that they were coming. Many have been concerned that cheers at the possible death and at least injury of the 19 year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could incite violence in other parts of the world.

However, revelry at the sight of justice is not inappropriate. After days of living in fear, the terror of a loose combatant ended. The man responsible for a heinous disrespect of human life was in police custody, and although it does not bring back the dead or heal the victims, it put the nation on the path to recovery. Celebration is warranted, and not inappropriate as long as it maintains respect for the situation and reverence for the victims.

And anger at the suspects and celebration for justice cannot be the only emotions we feel. It is absolutely essential to remember the first hours of empathy and love, and keep the support coming for the Boston community and those directly affected by these deadly attacks. We will never understand how someone could have so little respect for human life, but we must try and understand our own emotion in the days and weeks after a deadly terror attack. In this case, love and justice are going hand in hand.