On Friday morning, Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot twice while giving a speech in the southern city of Nara. He collapsed immediately and was rushed to the nearest hospital. Photos from the scene showed him bleeding. The gunman was tackled by security personnel on the scene, and the 41-year-old suspect is now in police custody.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters earlier in an emotional press conference that Mr. Abe was in "very serious condition." "Right now, doctors are doing everything they can," Mr Kishida, who appeared to be holding back tears, said, adding that he was "praying from the bottom of his heart" that Mr Abe would survive.
"It is barbaric and malicious, and it cannot be tolerated," he said of the attack.
Abe had a bullet wound on the right side of his neck and subcutaneous bleeding under the left side of his chest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. It's unclear whether both shots struck him, or if a bullet struck him in the neck and travelled elsewhere. According to police sources, Abe was "conscious and responsive" while being transported to the hospital, according to NHK.
However, a senior member of Mr. Abe's party was quoted as saying the 67-year-situation old's was "worrisome." Mr. Abe's younger brother informed reporters that the former Prime Minister was undergoing a blood transfusion.