Crime & Justice

Former Japan PM Abe in cardio-respiratory arrest after being shot

Tokyo, Jul 8 (EFE).- Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in cardio-respiratory arrest after being shot during a Friday election event, authorities reported.

Abe was rushed to hospital by ambulance and later by helicopter after the incident.

Medical personnel were trying to recover his vital signs, according to the police and health services of the city of Nara in western Japan, where the attack took place.

It is believed the former Japanese leader was shot in the back while giving a campaign speech on the street near the Yamato-Saidaiji train station, said the local police, who have arrested a man believed to be behind the attack.

Two shots were heard at the scene after which Abe collapsed, public broadcaster NHK reported citing eyewitnesses at the scene.

Some users uploaded images of the politician being treated on the spot on social media.

Health services were transferring the former prime minister to a hospital in the city of Kashihara, south of Nara.

The incident occurred around 11:30 am in front of several people who were attending the event or were walking near the station.

Abe stepped down from his post in September 2020 due to health problems after becoming the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

The conservative leader was campaigning for a parliamentary Upper House election scheduled for Sunday, in which Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party of Abe, and that of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, hopes to secure a majority.

Election rallies in Japan are usually held in the middle of the street amid few security measures due to the low rate of crime and attacks with firearms in the country. EFE

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