According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot in the back while giving a speech in the street in the city of Nara on Friday morning.
Abe is said to have been shot at around 11:30 a.m. by an assailant from behind with a “pistol,” according to a source. An NHK reporter at the scene said he heard at least two gunshots and saw blood as Abe collapsed to the ground.
He was taken to the hospital “without any obvious vital signs,” an anchor said, citing local fire officials.
According to local authorities, the attack caused the former prime minister to go into cardiac arrest.
A suspect in his 40s was detained at the scene. The man in a gray shirt and khaki pants remained in the area after the incident, according to a witness.
The witness told NHK.
Abe was in the city of Nara, the capital of a prefecture in western Japan less than 30 miles from Kyoto, to support a candidate in the upcoming upper house elections, scheduled for Sunday. this.
This story is developing and will be updated.
