WATCH: How Slovakian PM’s Bodyguard Swung Into Action After He Was Shot Multiple Times In Assassination Attempt
According to media reports, multiple shots were heard, followed by security guards swiftly lifting the premier and transferring him into a vehicle.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times by a gunman as he went to greet the public outside following a political meeting in the town of Handlova. Fico, a populist politician who assumed office just last year, was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening wounds after 5 gunshots were reportedly fired on him. Local media sais that the 59-year-old leader was hit in the abdomen outside. He is not facing a life-threatening situation now after hours of surgery, the deputy prime minister informed.
Visuals of the aftermath of the attack show his bodyguards taking him inside his armoured limousine. The Dennik N daily, whose reporter saw the premier being lifted into a car by security guards, reported that the suspected gunman had been detained by police, news agency AFP reported.
The first minutes after the attack on Robert #Fico – the prime minister’s security guards evacuate him to his motorcade while eyewitnesses hold the shooter
According to preliminary information from Slovak media, Fico was shot multiple times. One to the abdomen, one to the… pic.twitter.com/vhcYPPjjlg
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 15, 2024
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said she was “utterly shocked by today’s brutal and reckless attack on Slovakia’s prime minister… which I condemn in (the) strongest possible terms”.
“I wish him a lot of strength in this critical moment and early recovery,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.
Fico not in life-threatening situation now
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is not in a life-threatening situation at the moment, the deputy prime minister told the BBC.
The comments late on Wednesday came after Fico was shot several times in an attempted assassination.
“I was very shocked … Fortunately, as far as I know, the operation went well and I guess in the end he will survive … He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba.
Suspect confirmed as 71-year-old writer
The suspect detained for shooting at PM Fico is a writer from the centre of the European nation, the interior minister said after local media identified the man. “I think I can confirm this, yes,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters when asked about reports identifying the man detained at the scene of the shooting in the town of Handlova.
A grey-haired suspect was seen being handcuffed on the ground just after Fico was shot several times after a government meeting in Handlova. Officials say Fico, a populist prime minister, is fighting for his life late Wednesday.
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