Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly is unconscious and unresponsive after being shot in the torso while delivering a speech on Friday in the southwest region of the country.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that the 67-year-old was giving a campaign stump speech for upcoming elections in the country when he was shot.
Abe was quickly rushed to a hospital via a medical evacuation helicopter. The Washington Post reported that Abe had entered heart failure after being shot.
Two shots were reportedly heard and a man at the scene was quickly taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder. A firearm was recovered at the scene.
Japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that the Japanese government was coordinating a response to the shooting and that all cabinet members were being called back to the capital city of Tokyo. “Such violence cannot be permitted,” Matsuno said.
The govt is coordinating on a response to the shooting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said. All Cabinet members campaigning or helping campaigns have been requested to return to Tokyo, he said.
"Such violence cannot be permitted," Matsuno said.More to come.
— Michelle Ye Hee Lee (@myhlee) July 8, 2022
“We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a tweet. “Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the U.S. The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.”
We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the U.S. The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.
— ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) July 8, 2022
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