Phoenix, Arizona - Vice President JD Vance cancelled his plans to attend a commemoration of the September 11 attack at Ground Zero, opting instead to personally accompany Charlie Kirk's body back home to Arizona.

Kirk's body was transported aboard Air Force Two, with Vance's wife Usha joining the Christian nationalist's widow, Erika.

"Welcome home, Charlie," Phoenix Air Traffic Control reportedly said after Air Force Two touched down. "You didn't deserve it. May God bless your family."

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. The shooter's identity is still unknown.

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Photos taken by reporters saw Vance looking visibly upset as he exited Air Force Two in Phoenix and walked down the steps behind Usha, who seemed to be comforting Erika Kirk.

The vice president has expressed grief and anger at the loss of a personal friend.

"Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers," Vance shared in a 1000-word tribute to Kirk on X.

"After every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do. 'You focus on Wisconsin,' he'd tell me. 'Arizona is in the bag.' And it was."

He added: "Charlie was so proud of Erika and the two kids. He was so happy to be a father. And he felt such gratitude for having found a woman of God with whom he could build a family."

"Now that Charlie is in heaven, I'll ask him to talk to the big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly,"