New York police discovered the body of Joseph Rago, 34, at his East Village apartment at 7:40pm

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with The Wall Street Journal was found dead at his Manhattan home on Thursday evening, the newspaper reported on Friday.

New York police discovered the body of Joseph Rago, 34, at his East Village apartment at 7:40pm, according to the Journal.

His colleagues at the newspaper grew concerned earlier in the day when Rago did not show up for work.

Rago’s boss, Paul Gigot, the editor of the Journal’s editorial page, notified the newspaper’s security officials, who promptly called police.

First responders arrived at his home and found Rago with no obvious signs of trauma.

They declared him dead at the scene.

Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy before definitively determining the cause of death.

‘It is with a heavy heart that we confirm the death of Joseph Rago, a splendid journalist and beloved friend,’ Gigot said in a statement.

His colleagues at the newspaper grew concerned earlier in the day when Rago did not show up for work. Rago’s boss, Paul Gigot, the editor of the Journal’s editorial page, notified the newspaper’s security officials, who promptly called police

‘Joe and his family are in our thoughts and prayers, and we will be celebrating his work in Saturday’s paper.’

Rago’s rise to journalistic stardom was relatively quick. He won a Pulitzer Prize before the age of 30 with his well-researched criticisms of Obamacare in 2011.

The Pulitzer organization awarded Rago journalism’s top honor because of his ‘well crafted, against-the-grain editorials challenging the health care reform advocated by President Obama.’

‘No matter where you fall in the debate of health care reform, the arguments advanced by Joseph Rago in his series of editorials in The Wall Street Journal were impossible to ignore,’ the judges wrote.

‘Not paying attention to these editorials was not an option for policymakers.’

Liberals and conservatives alike took notice of Rago’s commentary, according to the Journal.

First responders arrived at his home on St. Marks Place in the East Village (above) and found Rago with no obvious signs of trauma. They declared him dead at the scene

‘Through his editorials, he had enormous impact on events in Washington,’ Gigot said.

Rago, who graduated with a degree in history from Dartmouth College, first started at the Journal as a summer intern in 2005.

He immediately made an impression on his bosses thanks to his writing style and breadth of knowledge.

‘I immediately hired him,’ Gigot said.

‘He was just too good not to hire.’

Rago was hired as an assistant editor on the op-ed page. He then became an editorial writer before joining the editorial board.

Media colleagues and commentators reacted with shock to the news. 'Such terrible news,' tweeted MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. 'He was so gifted and good guy'

Avik Roy, a journalist and policy advisor, tweeted: 'Joe Rago is irreplaceable as a writer and a human being

'Very sad day here,' tweeted the Journal's deputy editor in chief, Matt Murray. 'Joe was a talented and lovely guy'

‘He was the kind of person you liked to have a beer with - I know that’s a cliché, but it’s actually true,’ Gigot said.

Rago would often provide commentary on issues ranging from health care to antitrust issues to energy regulation to national security.

In addition, he would mentor college journalism students by virtue of his serving on the board of directors of the Dartmouth Review, the conservative campus newspaper for which he wrote while at Dartmouth.

‘Journalism is a hard field to get into, and I caught a break and try to help other people,’ he said.

Media colleagues and commentators reacted with shock to the news.

'Such terrible news,' tweeted MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. 'He was so gifted and good guy.'

Avik Roy, a journalist and policy advisor, tweeted: 'Joe Rago is irreplaceable as a writer and a human being.

'Shocking news. Thoughts with his family and @WSJOpinion.'

'Very sad day here,' tweeted the Journal's deputy editor in chief, Matt Murray.

'Joe was a talented and lovely guy.'