Snyder orders flags lowered after Florida, Michigan deaths

LANSING (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has ordered U.S. and Michigan flags lowered to half-staff for more than a week for victims of the mass shooting in Florida and bicyclists who died in southwestern Michigan.

In a statement Monday, Snyder said: “Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives and for their loved ones who are grieving.”

The lowering for those in Florida is through Thursday and follows President Barack Obama’s call for lowering of U.S. flags. Snyder says the additional days through June 21 are for the cyclists killed last week when they were hit by a pickup truck near Kalamazoo.

The bicyclists were part of a group that called themselves “The Chain Gang.” The  driver of the pickup is charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.