Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot on the street in the city of Nara on Friday — a shocking act of violence in a country with one of the world’s lowest rates of gun crime.
Abe was shot at about 11:30 a.m. local time in Nara, east of Osaka, as he gave an election campaign speech on the street. He suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck, according to officials in Tokyo. He was taken to the hospital first by ambulance, then by medical helicopter.
Abe arrived at the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest at 12:20 local time, according to doctors at Nara Medical University. In a news conference several hours after the shooting, an emotional Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that Abe was in critical condition, undergoing emergency treatment. Abe’s brother, also the country’s Defense Minister, said he was receiving a blood transfusion.
Abe was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. local time, according to the head of Nara Medical University. At a news conference at the hospital, doctors said the former leader died from excessive bleeding and the bullet that killed him had penetrated deep enough to reach his heart.