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Why is the flag at the White House being flown at half-staff today?
President Donald Trump has ordered all flags on public buildings, military posts and naval stations to be at half-staff today.
The White House flag is at half-staff today. In a proclamation on Wednesday, President Donald Trump ordered all flags on public buildings, military posts and naval stations to be at half-staff as a mark of respect for the Minneapolis school shooting victims.
This comes after a shooter, identified as Robin Westman, fired 116 rounds from a rifle in a Minneapolis church, injuring more than a dozen children and killing two. Police revealed that the 23-year-old suspect once attended the same school and had been a member of the church.
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After the deadly shooting on Wednesday, Trump ordered the White House flag to be flown at half-staff.
“I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, August 31, 2025,” the president said in a press release.
“I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations,” he further added.
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Reacting to the tragic incident, Trump had earlier said that he was ‘praying for everyone involved’.
On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel said that the attack was an act of domestic terrorism, motivated by hate-filled ideology.
“The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics. There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured,” he wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
Minnesota Gov Tim Walz on Thursday deployed state law enforcement officers to schools and churches in Minneapolis, saying no child should go to school worried about losing a classmate or gunshots erupting during prayer.
