Gov. Spencer Cox ordered all U.S. flags and Utah flags to be lowered to the half-staff position in honor of the victims of a school shooting Monday in Nashville, Tennessee.
While the order applies to state buildings, "Gov. Cox encourages individuals, businesses and other organizations to lower their flags to half-staff as well," a statement from the governor's office said.
A former student shot through the doors of The Covenant School in Nashville and killed three children and three adults after elaborately planning the massacre by drawing out a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building, police said. The victims included three 9-year-old children, the school's top administrator, a substitute teacher and a custodian.
The flags are to be lowered "immediately" and remain lowered until sunset on Friday, as President Joe Biden also ordered Monday "as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence."