x
Breaking News
More () »

Governor Deal orders flags at half-staff to honor synagogue shooting victims

Governor Deal's order remains in effect until Wednesday evening and covers state officers across Georgia.

ATLANTA -- Flags across Georgia will be flown at half-staff to honor the memory of numerous victims of a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Saturday.

Governor Nathan Deal penned an executive order on Monday instructing state agencies to lower their flags in memory of the 11 people killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

The move is in lockstep with President Trump who ordered flags lowered on all public buildings and grounds. The order will keep the flags at half-staff until sunset on Wednesday.

"First Lady Sandra Deal and I are praying for the victims, their loved ones and the Pittsburgh community," Deal posted on social media.

This comes after investigators said, Robert Bowers, a long-haul trucker armed with a rifle and three handguns burst into the synagogue on Saturday while shouting anti-Semitic epithets and firing at the congregation. He was wounded in a shooting with police and taken into custody.

Victims in the shooting raged from middle-age to nearly 100 years old. The Anti-Defamation League called Saturday's attack the deadliest against the Jewish community in U.S. history.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY and the Associated Press.

RELATED: Metro Atlanta vigils to honor synagogue shooting victims

Before You Leave, Check This Out