Abe Shinzo, the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister in history, was shot dead today at a campaign rally in Nara. Police tackled the assassin, who is in custody. Abe, 67, was Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012, stepping down in 2020. Still a key figure in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, he was stumping for candidates in forthcoming parliamentary elections.
Footage of the attack shows Abe standing, holding a microphone and speaking, when two booming shots ring out. Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe suffered major damage to his heart in addition to two neck wounds that damaged an artery, causing extensive bleeding, according to The Associated Press.
Reports show a discarded handmade shotgun at the scene.
