According to local media, former Japanese prime leader Shinzo Abe passed away in the hospital after being shot during a political campaign rally.
On Friday morning in the southern city of Nara, Mr. Abe received two gunshot wounds.
He instantly lost consciousness and was taken to the closest hospital. Photos obtained on the site revealed that he was bleeding.
The shooter was subdued by security personnel present at the site, and the 41-year-old suspect is currently in police custody.
The incident was denounced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in an emotional press conference earlier, who said: “It is savage and nasty and it cannot be condoned.”
Shinzo Abe’s vital signs were nonexistent when he arrived at the hospital, according to the hospital’s medical staff, but they nonetheless performed resuscitation. At the time of his arrival, the medic described his condition as “very bad, it was quite grave.” He suffered a subcutaneous hemorrhage and two wounds in his neck. At 5:03 p.m., Abe’s death was verified.
The attack on Shinzo Abe was especially surprising because Japan has one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world and near-zero tolerance for gun ownership.
Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister of Japan, passed away on Friday at the age of 67 after being shot while supporting a candidate ahead of Sunday’s elections.
Before Mr. Abe’s passing was reported, the police detained a suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, on an initial allegation of attempted murder.
Mr. Abe was wounded in the right neck and left chest, according to the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Social media videos showed Mr. Abe, 67, lying bleeding on the ground in Nara, a city in western Japan not far from Kyoto.
On Friday night, Mr. Abe’s death in the hospital was verified by Hidetada Fukushima, the professor in charge of emergency medicine at Nara Medical University Hospital.
Prior to Mr. Abe’s passing, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack a “heinous deed” at a press conference. Mr. Kishida had been campaigning in Yamagata Prefecture and had left for Tokyo after the shooting. It is brutal and wicked, and it cannot be permitted, he continued.
Kei Sato, a 43-year-old member of the Liberal Democratic Party from Nara who was seeking reelection to the Upper House of Parliament, was the subject of Mr. Abe’s speech during the campaign. Less than a minute had passed since Mr. Abe began speaking when he heard two explosions behind him.
