Biden campaign pulls ads after Trump rally shooting

President Joe Biden 's campaign is on hold and he is returning to the White House after a gunman and rallygoer were killed during a shooting at an event for former President Donald Trump .

"The Biden campaign is pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible," campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz told reporters Saturday.

Moments earlier, the White House circulated a statement from Biden, in which the president conveyed his relief that Trump survived the incident.

"I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania," Biden wrote. "I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.

"Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety," he said. "There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it."

Biden had been criticized by conservatives for taking roughly two hours to issue that statement after gunshots rang out in Butler, Pennsylvania, minutes after Trump started his remarks. The White House later confirmed Biden had spoken to Trump on the phone, in addition to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy. Biden was also briefed for a third time, this iteration including Attorney General Merrick Garland , FBI Director Christopher Wray , and national security adviser Jake Sullivan .

During an address to the nation from an emergency briefing room in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where Biden was planning on spending the rest of the weekend, the president reiterated his denunciation of violence.

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"There is no place in America for this kind of violence," Biden said. "It's sick. It's sick. It is one of the reasons we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this."

When asked whether he believed it was an assassination attempt, Biden told reporters traveling with him that he had "an opinion but I don’t have any facts.”