Donald Trump Reacts to Charlie Kirk Shooting: 'Great Guy from Top to Bottom' By Meredith Kile

President Donald Trump has addressed the shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial after the news broke.

The 31-year-old right-wing political commentator was speaking to the crowd during his American Comeback Tour stop at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10 when he was shot in the side of the head or neck.

Video showed the gruesome moment, as the crowd on the Orem, Utah, campus scattered in a panic.

Aubrey Laitsch, the public relations manager for Kirk’s Turning Point USA, told PEOPLE in a statement, “This is an ongoing situation. We can confirm that Charlie Kirk has been shot. He is in the hospital, and we are praying for him at this time.”

Vice President J.D. Vance also posted to X shortly after news of the shooting broke, writing, “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.”

Utah Senator Mike Lee wrote, “I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.”

Kirk shared photos and video from the event on X just moments before the shooting occurred.

“WE. ARE. SO. BACK. 🔥🔥🔥. Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour,” he wrote.

PEOPLE reached out to the Utah Valley University Police Department, who confirmed “there were shots fired, yes.”

Kirk started his career in political commentary after being influenced by the controversial Tea Party movement of the 2000s. In 2012, he founded Turning Points USA, whose website states that its mission is “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.”

On his American Comeback Tour, Kirk traveled to college campuses around the country, setting up his now-infamous folding table and inviting critics to “Prove Me Wrong” about political topics.

Kirk married former Miss Arizona USA Erika Frantzve in May 2021. They have two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.