Washington ? The teenage son of Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., died Saturday of an apparent suicide at the family’s home in Virginia, a spokesman for the congressman said.

Luke Tiahrt, 16, the youngest of three children, would have been a junior this fall at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va. The circumstances of his death were not disclosed.

“He started on the varsity football team as a sophomore. He was active on the lacrosse team and very well liked,” said Chuck Knapp, communications director for Rep. Tiahrt, who entered Congress in 1995. “This comes as a complete shock.”

Knapp said the family was devastated and asked people to pray for them. An e-mail account for condolences has been established, tiahrtcondolences@mail.house.gov.

At a meeting Saturday, members of the Republican state committee observed a moment for the Tiahrt family, and state Chairman Dennis Jones offered a prayer on their behalf.

“The sympathies of the party are with the Tiahrt family,” Jones said later. “This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportions.”

Luke Tiahrt was born Nov. 13, 1987, in Wichita, Kan. He attended Virginia public schools for most of his schooling but went to school in Wichita for first and third grades. He attended Bethel Life and Valley Center Assemblies of God churches from his birth until 1994. He was a member of the Church of the Apostles in Fairfax.

He is survived by his parents, Todd and Vicki Tiahrt, and his siblings, Jessica and John.