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Trump orders flags be flown at half-staff

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Latest on a deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue (all times local):

10:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump has ordered flags at federal buildings throughout the United States to be flown at half-staff in “solemn respect” for the shooting victims at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Trump issued the proclamation late Saturday, shortly after returning to Washington from speaking at the Future Farmers of America convention in Indianapolis and a campaign rally in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Throughout the day, he expressed sorrow, called for justice and bemoaned hate, getting regular updates on the shooting. But he also campaigned for candidates and took shots at favorite Democratic targets. Trump said cancelling his appearance would make “sick, demented people important.”

In the proclamation, Trump called for the flags to be lowered until Oct. 31. Earlier in the day he told reporters he would travel to Pittsburgh, but offered no details.

The man suspected of killing 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh has been charged with obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.

Federal prosecutors say Robert Bowers was charged Saturday night in a 29-count criminal complaint. It wasn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

The charges also include 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder, weapons offenses and charges alleging Bowers seriously injured police officers while obstructing the exercise of religious beliefs.

Authorities said six people, including four police officers, were also wounded during Saturday’s shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

The charging documents were not immediately available in a federal court records database. Prosecutors have scheduled a Sunday morning news conference to discuss the case.

First responders surround the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., where a shooter opened fire Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Police respond to an active shooter situation at the Tree of Life synagogue on Wildins Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, October 27, 2018. (Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette via AP)
Polikce respond to an active shooter situation at the Tree of Life synagogue on Wildins Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, October 27, 2018. (Pam Panchak/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)