Lawmakers quickly sounded off after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot during an event on his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.

Prayers for Kirk’s recovery as well as condemnation of political violence poured in from both Democrats and Republicans minutes after the news broke.

“This is a good time to pray,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on X, adding that he was monitoring the situation.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Action’s The Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 26, 2024. (REUTERS/Marco Bello)

Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., a first-term Democrat, wrote online, “Political violence has NO place in our society. I am closely monitoring the events in Utah.”

“The attack on Charlie Kirk today is a horrific act of political violence. Praying for his safety and for his family in this trying time. We must reject and condemn political violence in all its forms,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said in a statement.

The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York similarly condemned the violence.

“Political violence is NEVER acceptable. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family,” Jeffries wrote in a statement.

The top Democrat and Republican in the Senate both sounded off with similar sentiments in the minutes after Kirk was shot.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington on June 2, 2025.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wrote on X.

Kirk also got support from former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who left Congress after she was shot and nearly killed in a political assassination attempt in 2011.

“I’m horrified to hear that Charlie Kirk was shot at an event in Utah. Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” Giffords wrote.

She added that she and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., are praying for Kirk’s recovery.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., condemned gun violence after the shooting on Wednesday.

“The horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation. All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirk’s recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence,” Pelosi wrote in a statement.

Ellen Treanor, Associate Vice President of Strategic Communications Management at Utah Valley University, told Fox News that a suspect was in custody after Kirk’s shooting.