Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered that flags around New York State be flown at half-staff from Monday, October 29th until Sunday, November 4th to honor those shot and killed in Pittsburgh and Kentucky.
Eleven people were killed on Saturday when a gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two were killed in a shooting at a supermarket in Jeffersontown, Kentucky. Both shootings are being investigated as hate crimes.
"The hate in this country has reached a fever pitch and it is bubbling over into violence. This past week, the entire nation was shaken by targeted attempted political bombings, by the racist attack in Kentucky and by the anti-Semitic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh," Governor Cuomo said in a statement.
Cuomo said New York stands with the victims and their loved ones. He said the attacks in the past week don't represent who we are as a nation.
"As the Governor of the state with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, I will do everything in my power to ensure our religious institutions will be free from violence and intolerance. Anyone, no matter their beliefs, deserves to be able to worship in peace," Cuomo said.
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