Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was reportedly shot during a campaign speech and collapsed.
The report was first made by Japanese broadcaster NHK who had a reporter at the speech in Nara City at about 11:30 a.m. local time.
The reporter said Abe collapsed during the speech and something like a gunshot was heard at about the same time. Abe is said to have been hospitalized with heart failure.
Other reports said he was attacked from behind and that a suspect was detained.
Videos on social media reportedly showed the scene after the attack.
BREAKING:
Former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe has been shot and injured, received bullet(s) in chest, being rushed to hospital in Nara city. He had just delivered a speech there pic.twitter.com/dHaBYdVJfb— خالد (@khalid_pk) July 8, 2022
Another showed bystanders rushing in to help.
WATCH: Bystanders rush to help former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after he is shotpic.twitter.com/vgk7fn323p
— BNO News (@BNONews) July 8, 2022
NBC News said a producer in Japan reported that the former prime minister’s condition was unknown.
Abe was giving campaign speeches ahead of elections in Japan. The longest serving prime minister in Japanese history, he resigned from his office in 2020
