Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot at a campaign address in western Japan on Friday and is now in heart failure, according to NHK public television.
According to national network NHK and the Kyodo news agency, the former leader was giving a stump speech at a gathering before Sunday’s upper house elections when what appeared to be gunshots were heard.
According to a source from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Abe, 67, was bleeding from the neck when he slumped.
Local police and the LDP were unable to corroborate the reports quickly.
Both NHK and Kyodo stated that Abe had been transported to the hospital and seemed to be in cardiorespiratory arrest, a term used in Japan to indicate the absence of vital signs and usually occurs before a coroner formally declares someone dead.
He appeared to have been shot from behind, maybe with a shotgun, according to a number of media outlets.
NHK provided no additional information; however, it was stated that a man had been captured.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, was in power from 2012 to 2020 and again from 2006 to 2006.
During Abe’s address, an NHK reporter who was on the scene reported hearing two consecutive bangs.
NHK, a local public network, initially reported that Abe had been shot during the address.