Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been shot while giving a campaign speech in western Japan.
ABC News partner NHK reported that Abe was bleeding when he collapsed.
Abe’s heart is in a “stopped condition,” ABC News has learned, and there are no vital signs.
Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to the media as he arrives at the prime minister’s office for a cabinet meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 16, 2020. Japan’s NHK TV says on Friday, July 7, 2022, former Prime Minister Abe apparently was shot at and collapsed during a campaign speech.
AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File
People react after gunshots in Nara, western Japan, Friday, July 8, 2022. Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in heart failure after apparently being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, NHK public television said Friday.
Kyodo News via AP
Two shots were heard. The former prime minister was shot in the back and bleeding on-site when he was transported to a hospital.
Authorities have a suspect — a man in his 40s — in custody and recovered a weapon at the scene, which is described as a shotgun.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel tweeted late Thursday night, “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.,” he said. “The U.S. Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
