Image of the U.S. Capitol today (Instagram)

In light of the shooting spree at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead and 59 more wounded, President Obama declared that U.S. flags at all federal buildings, military installations and diplomatic posts will fly at half-mast through next week.

The White House released a presidential proclamation ordering that flags be lowered shortly after 2 p.m.:

As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colorado, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 25, 2012. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

Earlier today, Obama cut short a campaign swing through central Florida after learning of the massacre, which happened during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter in director Christopher Nolan’s series of Batman films.

In a brief remarks on the shooting delivered in Fort Myers, Fla., Obama called the massacre “beyond reason.”

LAist has more on the shooting, including the investigation into suspected gunman James Holmes, a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Colorado.