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Shinzo Abe: Killing of Japan’s ex-PM described as ‘barbaric’

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has died in hospital after he was shot at a political campaign event, say local media.

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Mr Abe was shot at twice while he was giving a speech in the southern city of Nara on Friday morning.

He immediately collapsed and was rushed to the nearest hospital. Pictures taken at the scene showed him bleeding.

Security officials at the scene tackled the gunman, and the 41-year-old suspect is now in police custody.

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In an emotional press conference earlier, prime minister Fumio Kishida condemned the attack, saying: “It is barbaric and malicious and it cannot be tolerated.”

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency had earlier confirmed that Mr Abe had a bullet wound on the right of his neck, and also suffered subcutaneous bleeding under the left part of his chest.

It is unclear if both shots hit him, or if a bullet hit him on the neck and travelled elsewhere.

Mr Abe was said to be conscious and responsive in the minutes after the attack, but the 67-year-old’s situation later deteriorated and he had to receive a blood transfusion in hospital, according to reports.

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Mr Abe was giving a stump speech for a political candidate in Nara at a road junction when the attack happened.

Eyewitnesses said they saw a man carrying what they described as a large gun and firing twice at Mr Abe from behind.

Security officers detained the attacker, who made no attempt to run, and seized his weapon which was reportedly a handmade gun.

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The suspect has been identified as Nara resident Tetsuya Yamagami. Local media reports say he is believed to be a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, Japan’s equivalent of a navy.

Mr Abe’s speech came as part of a campaign for his former party, the Liberal Democratic Party, as upper house elections in Japan are due to take place later this week.

Ministers across the country were later told to return to Tokyo immediately, according to local reports.

On Japanese social media, the hashtag “We want democracy, not violence” was trending, with many social media users expressing their horror and disgust towards the incident.

(BBC)