UPDATE: Ex-Japanese PM Shinzo Abe fighting for his life after gun attack

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: Friday, July 8, 2022

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has collapsed, and is showing no vital signs, emergency said to The Guardian.

Mr Abe was shot twice, with the second shot hitting him in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. Reports say his attacker has since been arrested.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was taking questions from media a while ago said Abe is in a critical condition.

“Currently doctors are doing everything they can, at this moment. I am hoping and praying that former prime minister Abe will survive this,” he says.

In the morning hours of Friday, Ex-Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe said in a tweet that the 67-year-old Mr Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest.

The term, according to the BBC, is often used before a death is officially confirmed in Japan.

“Former prime minister Abe was shot at around 11:30 local time (02:30 GMT) in Nara. One man, believed to be the shooter, has been taken into custody. The condition of former prime minister Abe is currently unknown,” chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

“Whatever the reason, such a barbaric act can never be tolerated, and we strongly condemn it.”

Videos circulating on social media, which could not be verified, appear to show paramedics huddled around Mr Abe in the middle of a street. He has now reportedly been taken to hospital.

Mr Abe was giving a stump speech for a candidate in Nara when the attack happened – eye-witnesses say they saw a man with what they described as a large gun fire from behind.

The first shot appears to have missed but the second shot hit Mr Abe in the back. He immediately fell to the ground bleeding. Security then detained the attacker who made no attempt to run.

Local news broadcaster NHK said Mr Abe was “conscious and responsive” while being transported after the shooting, citing police sources. The broadcaster also added that police have seized the attacker’s gun and identified him.

Local media reports say the attacker is believed to be a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, the local equivalent of a navy.

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