Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, was shot and killed

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died Friday, the director of Nara Medical University, who was treating him, confirmed at a news conference. He was pronounced dead at 5:03 pm local time, the hospital official said. Abe was shot later that day during a speech in Nara.

The bullet that killed former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was “deep enough to reach his heart”, doctors from Nara Medical University, who were treating him, said at a news conference on Friday. Abe was bleeding profusely and doctors were unable to stop the bleeding, medical officials said. Former Prime Minister Abe died of blood loss, doctors who treated him said. During the surgery, doctors faced difficulties in stopping the bleeding, they added at the news conference.

Hours earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Shinzo Abe was in critical condition and was undergoing emergency treatment. Doctors are “fighting to save” Abe, Kishida told a news conference on Friday. Abe was giving a campaign speech in the streets of Nara, Japan, NHK reported, to support the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of the upcoming upper house elections scheduled for Sunday. After continuing with speeches in Kyoto, he planned to head to Saitama prefecture, neighboring the capital Tokyo.

Police arrested Yamagami Tetsuya, a Nara resident in his 40s, in connection with the shooting of Abe, according to public broadcaster NHK, citing police sources. The suspect used a weapon that he appears to have made himself, NHK reported. , citing the police. The man did not attempt to flee, NHK reported. He is being held for questioning at the Nara Nishi Police Station. Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, making him the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister in history. He resigned as prime minister in 2020 before the end of his term, citing health reasons.