Shinzo Abe has died after being shot at an event in Nara city according to a Japanese National broadcaster. It has been disclosed by the fire department that he was shot in the neck. The former Prime Minister was shot twice and it was on the second shot that Mr. Abe fell to the floor bleeding.
Abe at age 67, was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. It is alleged that the former Minister’s attacker has been arrested; and that he is a man in his 40s. Former Governor of Tokyo, Yoichi Masuzoe had earlier announced on Twitter that the 67-year-old Mr. Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.
Unverified videos making rounds on the internet appear to show paramedics gathering around Mr. Abe in the middle of a street. It was alleged that the paramedics rushed him to the hospital. The former Prime minister was giving a speech for a candidate in Nara city when the incident happened. Eyewitnesses have reported seeing a man with a large firearm shooting from the back. The gunman missed his first shot but the second shot hit the target- Mr. Abe at his back.
Security quickly detained the gunman who did not attempt to flee the crime scene. It has been affirmed that Mr. Abe was responsive as well as conscious when he was rushed to the hospital, after the shooting, according to police sources.
The attacker’s gun has been seized and the gun-type has been verified. NHK added that the suspect made use of a handmade gun. Local media reports believe that the attacker was an ex-member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, the local equivalent of a navy.
