Students holding candles at a candlelight vigil for slain journalist Steven Sotloff at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, on September 3, 2014. (photo credit: AFP/Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)
MIAMI — Flags will fly half-mast Friday in the US state of Florida, where the family of beheaded US journalist Steven Sotloff lives, its governor said.
Sotloff, 31, was beheaded by Islamic State militants in a video released Tuesday, two weeks after the similar video of US journalist James Foley was posted online.
“In honor and in memory of Steven Sotloff, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the state of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the state of Florida,” Governor Rick Scott said in a statement.
Sotloff was kidnapped April 4, 2013, in Aleppo near the Turkish border, but his abduction was kept secret after his family requested a media blackout.
Journalist Steve Sotloff in Egypt, 2011 (photo credit: Facebook/Oren Kessler)
His family Wednesday paid tribute to the slain journalist, remembering him as a thoughtful man who enjoyed simple pleasures and was fascinated by the Middle East.
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Sotloff, who also held Israeli citizenship, was a freelance reporter who had written for Time magazine, Foreign Policy and other outlets. He was born in Miami.
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