Shinzo Abe who is the Former Prime Minister of Japan has been confirmed dead after he was fatally injured as a result of an attempted assassination on him.
“Former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara, where he was receiving medical treatment”, said national broadcaster NHK.
Shinzo Abe had been shot on Friday morning while delivering a speech ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary election. He collapsed after a man opened fire from behind; two bullets hit him.
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The politician was speaking in front of Kintetsu Railway’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station.
Abe, ex-leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was campaigning for a LDP candidate He had been rushed to the Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara City where he was confirmed dead.
The local police and emergency services had disclosed that Abe showed no vital signs. The Nara City Fire Department had also revealed that he was in cardio-pulmonary arrest before being taken to the hospital.
Abe, the longest-serving PM, had stepped down in August 2020 due to a relapse of chronic intestinal disease.
Footage and accounts broadcast by Japanese media showed Abe’s speech interrupted by two loud bangs – possibly from a shotgun – and smoke, with Abe stumbling to the ground after the second shot. TBS Television reported that Abe had been shot on the left side of his chest and apparently also in the neck. NHK had initially quoted firefighters as saying Abe showed no vital signs.
Moments later, members of Abe’s security detail wrestled a man to the ground some metres behind the former prime minister. The suspect was wearing a grey shirt, light brown trousers and grey trainers. His face was partly obscured by a surgical mask. He reportedly did not attempt to flee before being detained at the scene.
NHK said a suspect, named by police as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old resident of Nara, had been taken into custody but provided no further details.