Former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, died after being shot at on Friday in Nara City while campaigning for the upcoming election. The alleged gunman had been arrested.
A report from the NHK said: “Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo collapsed during a speech in the city of Nara, in western Japan. Initial reports say he may have been injured. An NHK reporter on-site heard something that sounded like a gunshot, and saw Abe bleeding.”
Photographs published by the Japanese agency Kyodo showed Abe lying face-up on the street unconscious and with blood on his white shirt, as people crowded around him.
The Nara city’s emergency services was quoted as having said that Abe had been wounded on the right side of his neck and left clavicle.
The shooting incident reportedly occurred at around 11.30 am (8 am IST) while Abe was making a campaign speech on a street outside the train station ahead of Sunday’s election to the upper house of Japan’s parliament.
Witnesses said two gunshots were head and that Abe was seen falling to the ground after the second shot rang out.
A man identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41 and believed to be a resident of Nara City, has been arrested as a suspect in the said shooting.
In 2020, Abe stepped down while serving as Prime Minister due to a chronic illness.
