WATCH: Former Congressman Provides Heartbreaking Account Of Charlie Kirk Shooting

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was present for the Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University, teared up while providing a harrowing account of the assassination attempt on conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was shot in the neck from what is believed to have been a rifle from about 200 yards away. Horrific footage from the scene shows Kirk slumping while mid-sentence after he was struck by a single bullet.

“I was up kind of on the second level because I wanted to be in the shade. But our daughter was there. Our son -in -law was there. My wife was there. Friends, this is our community. And there’s 2 000 or so people The Utah Valley University is our largest university, 40,000 students. And people came out to hear the dialogue, the back and forth. Ask them anything. That’s what Turning Point, Charlie Kirk is all about,” Chaffetz told Fox News.

The first question, Chaffetz recalled, was about religion. Kirk continued to speak and take questions for about 15-20 minutes when the shots rang out. “Second question, interestingly, was about transgender shooters, mass shooters. And in the midst of that, the shot rang out,” the former congressman continued.

He further noted that while he did not personally see Charlie get shot, though he did see him slump down to his left after he heard the shot. “And then everybody started running, as you might expect. There was some police presence, but there was no security check going in, which didn’t happen. Charlie has some security in front of him. But you got the sense that the shot came kind of straight at him. And I don’t think there would be many vantage points too far away because he was under an awning. It’s a bright, sunny, beautiful end of summer day in Utah.”

“And I just hope and pray that somehow, someway, he survives this,” the former congressman added while on the verge of tears.

As of 4:14 p.m. Eastern Time, Turning Point USA has announced that Kirk is in critical but stable condition. Police initially had a suspect in custody, an older man dressed in a navy blue shirt, though that suspect has since been released after authorities determined he had no relation to the shooting.

The FBI and ATF have responded to the scene.

This is a developing story.