Why are NC flags flying at half-staff this week? What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gov. Josh Stein ordered NC flags at half-staff through Aug. 31, 2025.
- Flags honor victims of Minneapolis church shooting that killed two children.
- Only the U.S. president and NC governor can mandate half-staff flag displays.
U.S. and state flags will fly at half-staff across North Carolina this week following a fatal church shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Department of Administration said.
Gov. Josh Stein on Thursday, Aug. 28, ordered the flags lowered until sunset on Sunday, Aug. 31, to honor the victims of an attack that killed two children and wounded several others at the Annunciation Catholic School.
Stein decried the incident as a “senseless act of violence.”
“I am heartbroken by the news of the terrible shooting in Minneapolis,” he said in a statement. “Anna and I send our condolences to the students, teachers and families at Annunciation Catholic School.”
Minneapolis shooting
On Aug. 27, a gunman Robin Westman, 23, opened fire on students and staff attending a Mass to start the new school year, the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported, citing police. Westman, a former student, started shooting from outside the church.
Two children, an 8- and a 10-year-old, were killed, according to the newspaper. At least 17 others, most of them children, were injured but are expected to survive, said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
“Too many of our young people are being killed by gun violence,” Stein said in a statement. “ It does not have to be this way.”
Who decides when flags are at half-staff?
In addition to marking somber occasions, flags are also lowered on select holidays throughout the year.
Under the NC State Government Flag Code, only the President of the United States and the governor have the authority to order flags be lowered to half-staff.
The president can lower flags on all federal “buildings, grounds, and naval vessels,” while the governor has the authority to lower flags at North Carolina facilities.
“At no time shall an order be given that would result in the flag of the state of North Carolina being displayed in a manner inconsistent with the various policies governing the display of both the United States and North Carolina flags,” the code says.
When are flags flown at half-staff in NC?
Other half-staff proclamations include:
- National Firefighters Memorial Day, First Sunday in May (sunrise to sunset)
- Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15 (sunrise to sunset)
- Memorial Day, Last Monday in May (sunrise to 12 noon)
- Patriot Day, September 11 (sunrise to sunset)
- Pearl Harbor Day, December 7 (sunrise to sunset)
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Why are NC flags flying at half-staff this week? What to know."
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the correct terminology for lowering a flag at half-staff.