Biden orders flags to half-staff after Texas school shooting

President Biden on Tuesday ordered that the flags at the White House, federal buildings and military posts be flown at half-staff for the victims of a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.  

The White House issued the proclamation Tuesday evening, hours after news broke of the shooting, which left at least 15 dead. Biden ordered the flags be flown at half-staff through Saturday at the White House, public buildings, military installations, and embassies and consular offices abroad “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.” 

Biden, who the White House said was briefed on the shooting while flying back from a trip to Asia, is scheduled to deliver remarks on the mass shooting later Tuesday evening after he returns.  

“His prayers are with the families impacted by this awful event,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted.  

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said that 14 students and one teacher were shot and killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday when a gunman opened fire in the school. The gunman, whom Abbott identified at 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, is said to have been killed.  

It’s the second mass shooting in less than two weeks that Biden has addressed. Days before departing the White House for Asia, Biden traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., to meet with families affected by the mass shooting at a grocery store that police have labeled a racist hate crime. That shooting left 10 people dead.