Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan, reportedly suffered at least one gunshot wound to the chest while giving a speech in Nara in western Japan.
Witnesses reported hearing two gunshots before Abe collapsed, clutching his chest and bleeding.
“He was giving a speech and a man came from behind,” one witness at the scene told NHK.
“The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she added. “After the second shot, people surrounded him and gave him cardiac massage.”
Breaking: Video shows the scene after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot in Nara, Japan. pic.twitter.com/htrRxLGNvg
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) July 8, 2022
Some outlets are reporting that Abe has died, while others say he was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest but was conscious and responsive. There has not yet been an official statement from the Japanese government.
The shooter, a man in his 40s, is reportedly in custody.
Stills of Shinzo Abe's alleged attacker being grabbed by security, via Asahi Shimbun (credit: 上田真美) #安倍晋三 pic.twitter.com/9OqA8o7G7r
— Tom Bateman (@tomb8man) July 8, 2022
It appears he may have used some kind of homemade sawed-off shotgun:
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that “Former prime minister Abe was shot at around 11:30 am” local time.
“One man, believed to be the shooter, has been taken into custody. The condition of former prime minister Abe is currently unknown,” he added. “Whatever the reason, such a barbaric act can never be tolerated, and we strongly condemn it.”
Abe was the first world leader to visit President Trump after his 2016 election and the two had a warm relationship. Trump posted on Truth Social early Friday morning:
The official account for American Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel tweeted a response shortly after the news broke:
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
Abe, 67, resigned his position as prime minister in 2020, citing health issues. He was the country’s longest-serving prime minister. At the time of the shooting, he was giving a stump speech in support of Liberal Democratic candidates ahead of Sunday’s election for the parliament’s upper house.
The former PM has been a critic of China in recent years and has angered the government there. In November he declared that the U.S. and Japan should defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression: “A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-U.S. alliance. People in Beijing, President Xi Jinping in particular, should never have a misunderstanding in recognising this,” he said. In an April op-ed, he blasted President Joe Biden for his ambiguous policy toward Taiwan, criticizing “America’s unwillingness to say explicitly that it will ‘defend Taiwan’ should it be attacked.”
Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and private gun ownership is rare.
This is a developing story.
Source: PJ Media
