Sen. Chris Murphy is in the hospital after having a stroke, according to the Connecticut Democrat’s office.
In a statement Sunday, Murphy’s chief of staff, Allison Herwitt, said the senator “started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game” on Saturday.
“He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke,” she said. “He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment. The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery.”
Murphy is 53.
Local leaders took to social media to express support for Murphy.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal told News 12, “I’m thinking of my great friend and colleague Chris Murphy. I know him to be a fierce fighter, and I am certain that I’ll be welcoming him back to the Senate very soon.”
The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.