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Suspect in Shinzo Abe shooting a former member of Japanese defence forces: Report

July 8, 2022
Bharat Times

According to a report in Japanese media, the gunman who allegedly shot former PM Shinzo Abe was a member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force.

Suspected shooter Tetsuya Yamagami being detained by police (India Today photo)

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot in the chest while campaigning for an upcoming parliamentary election in Nara, Japan on Friday. He was rushed to a hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.

The shooter, identified as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, was nabbed at the scene and placed under arrest. He carried out the attack on Abe using a shotgun.

According to Fuji TV, Yamagami, a resident of Nara, is a former member of Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, also known as the Japanese Navy. He reportedly fashioned by hand the gun he used to shoot Abe.

Local media reported that the suspect attacked Abe from behind while he was making a stump speech outside a train station in the western city of Nara. Two shots rang out and Abe collapsed, bleeding, after being struck in the chest by a bullet.

READ | Moment when ex-Japan PM Shinzo Abe collapsed after being shot at during speech | Video

While Abe’s security personnel and onlookers flocked around him, Yamagami attempted to escape. He was overpowered by police and detained. The gun used in the attack was also recovered.

Kyodo published a photograph showing Abe lying face-up on the street by a guardrail, blood on his white shirt. People were crowded around him, one administering CPR to revive him. Asahi Shimbun released photos of the suspect being tackled and restrained.

In a video released by NHK, Yamagami can be allegedly seen hanging around the place where Abe was slated to campaign today. He is dressed in a grey T-shirt, wearing spectacles, and carrying a black messenger bag.

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