Gov. Sanders orders flags to half-staff to honor victims of deadly Fordyce mass shooting

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Flags around Arkansas will be lowered to half-staff Friday as a show of support and mourning for the victims of the deadly mass shooting at a Fordyce grocery store the week prior.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday issued a statement saying US flags and Arkansas state flags will fly at half-staff on Friday, June 28, from sunrise to sunset, in memory of the lives lost at the Mad Butcher grocery store seven days earlier.

Four victims – Callie Weems, Roy Sturgis, Shirley Taylor and Ellen Shrum – were killed in the shooting. Another 10 people, including two Fordyce Police Department officers, were injured by gunfire at the shooting, while a police officer from Stuttgart was also injured responding to the scene.

In the order, Sanders noted how the victims were “loved by their families and by the Fordyce community” and that the deaths were “a tragedy for the entire State of Arkansas.”

She also talked about how the community of around 4,000 has been there as they mourned, stating “neighbors, friends, and family have come together to comfort each other in the wake of this event and offer prayer and a helping hand to anyone in need.”

The governor promised the state would provide resources and aid for the town, adding that “Arkansans are praying for the town of Fordyce, the families of the victims, and all impacted by this senseless tragedy.”

The suspect in the shooting, 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey, is currently in custody at the Ouachita County Detention Center.

Posey faces at least four counts of capital murder in connection with the shooting, with other charges being expected. He is scheduled to go in front of a judge Tuesday.

from KARK https://ift.tt/lX4AIkN