Former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe died on Friday after being shot at a campaign event, in an attack that shocked a country where gun violence is virtually nonexistent.
Abe, 67, was a towering political presence even after he stepped down as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, and he was campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday.
READ MORE :Ideal College students injured after clash with land guards, police
He had just begun a speech in the western city of Nara, near Kyoto, when gunfire was heard around 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Thursday ET).
Police said that Tetsuya Yamagishi, a 41-year-old unemployed man, was arrested at the scene and was being investigated for murder. The suspect confessed to his crime, police said, adding that he told them he harbored a grudge against a group he believed was connected to Abe.
They said they understood the attack was carried out with a homemade gun and later found several other weapons that appeared to be homemade at Yamagishi’s residence. It is unclear whether the suspect carried a proper licenses for the weapons.
READ MORE :South African actor SK Khoza ѕɛχ-tαpɛ breaks the tnternet [Watch]
Video footage of Abe’s speech showed a puff of white smoke appear behind the former leader along with two loud cannon-like blasts. Security officers were seen tackling a man to the ground, with video and photos showing what appeared to be an improvised weapon lying on the ground.
Abe was rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital after suffering cardio and pulmonary arrest. The hospital announced his death shortly after 5 a.m. ET.
Dr. Hidetada Fukushima, a professor of emergency medicine at the hospital, said Abe had two gunshot wounds and no vital signs when he arrived less than an hour after the shooting. Life-saving measures including blood transfusions were unsuccessful, he said, and Abe was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m. ET
Check out Shinzo Abe shot video below
Another image of Shinzo Abe Japan's former prime minister shot dead today when he was speaking public. Assassination pic.twitter.com/a0zrEOP9mG
— Japanese Items Seller (@JISOT1968) July 8, 2022
READ MORE :Nαkɛd woman hijacks fuel pump and sprays petrol on customers at petrol station [Watch]
Read all the Latest News, Entertainment News and gossips here. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram.
