NARA, Japan — Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday on a street in western Japan by a gunman who shot him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech — an attack that stunned a nation with some of the world’s strictest gun-control laws.
The 67-year-old Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader when he resigned in 2020, collapsed bleeding and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. He was later pronounced dead after receiving massive blood transfusions, officials said.
The head of Nara Medical University’s emergency department, Hidetada Fukushima, said Abe suffered major damage to his heart, along with two neck wounds that damaged an artery.
A suspect gunman was arrested at the scene and identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a former member of Japan’s navy. Public broadcaster NHK reported that he said he wanted to kill Abe for reasons unrelated to politics.
Advertisement
People pray before a street memorial in Nara, Japan, for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot while speaking at a campaign event Friday.
(Yuichi Yamazaki / Getty Images)
Abe lies on the ground as others come to his aid after he was shot Friday in Nara, Japan.
(Kyodo News)
Abe is wheeled on a stretcher into Nara Medical University Hospital after arriving on a helicopter.
(Shohei Izumi / Yomiuri Shimbun )
Onlookers stand on the sidewalk as police and other emergency personnel work the scene at Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, after Abe was shot.
(Jiji Press / AFP via Getty Images)
A security officer grabs suspect Tetsuya Yamagami, holding a homemade weapon, after Abe was shot.
(Nara Shimbun/Kyodo News )
Yamagami is taken to the ground by a security officer after Friday’s shooting in Nara, Japan.
(Katsuhiko Hirano / Yomiuri Shimbun)
Advertisement
A woman wipes away tears Friday night in front of a makeshift memorial at the site where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot earlier.
(Philip Fong / AFP )
A man prays at the street memorial to Shinzo Abe in Nara, Japan.
(Yuichi Yamazaki / Getty Images)
In 2018, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, joins other Group of 7 leaders surrounding former President Trump during a summit in Charlevoix, Canada.
( Jesco Denze / EPA)
In 2019, during the annual convention of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, center, raises his fist in a display of unity with party officials Katsunobu Kato, left, and Toshihiro Nikai.
(Bloomberg )
In 2007, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews the honor guard during a ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo.
(Bloomberg )
In 2019, Abe walks with Pope Francis after the pope’s arrival at the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo.
(Tomohiro Ohsumi/Pool Photo)
Advertisement
In 2016, President Obama looks on as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe places a wreath in front of the cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan.
