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Japan's former prime minister was assassinated in the back, Shinzo Abe, while delivering a speech in Nara (west) ahead of elections to renew the composition of the Japanese Senate.
The camera shows the gunman wearing a mask and carrying a cross-body bag. A short distance ahead is Shinzo Abe, holding a microphone while bystanders applaud him. The gunman watches and looks for the right opportunity to pull the trigger.
For six hours, 20 doctors tried to stop the bleeding to save Japan's former prime minister, but were unsuccessful. At 15:03 local time, his death was announced.
Shock over former prime minister's assassination
Shinzo Abe's murderous attack while campaigning for parliamentary elections came as a shock in a country where political violence is rare and gun control is strict.
The gunman opened fire on the 67-year-old Abe from behind with an apparently improvised weapon while the former prime minister was giving a speech in the western city of Nara.[/B] It is the first assassination of a sitting or former prime minister in Japan since the 1930s.
The hospital that tried to save him said Shinzo Abe died at 5:03 p.m. (11:03 p.m. GMT), about five and a half hours after he was shot. A doctor said Abe died of uncontrollable bleeding from two deep wounds, one on the right side of his neck. When he was taken to the hospital, he had no vital signs.
Video: The moment of the shooting
Police have announced that a 41-year-old man has been arrested for the attack on Abe. According to the NHK television network, his name is Tetsuya Yamagami and he told police he was unhappy with Abe and wanted to kill him.
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Abe was delivering a campaign speech outside a train station when two shots rang out at around 11:30am (local time, 05:30 GMT). Security members were seen immobilising a man wearing a grey T-shirt and beige trousers by throwing him into the street.
"There was a loud bang and then smoke," businessman Makoto Ichikawa, who was an eyewitness, told Reuters. He added that the gun was the size of a television camera. "In the first shot no one knew what was going on, but after the second shot, special police forces threw him to the ground."
Video: The moment of arrest
Earlier, Kyodo news agency carried a photo of Abe lying face down in the street with blood on his white shirt. People were gathered around him and someone was giving him cardiac massage.
Nara's emergency services said he had been wounded in the right side of his neck and left collarbone. His brother, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, said Abe was receiving blood transfusions.
Πηγή: protothema.gr
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