Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe critically wounded in shooting: officials

Local media reported Abe was unconscious and bleeding when he was taken to hospital after being reportedly shot during a speech in western Japan.

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe was in grave condition after reportedly being shot during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara on Friday.

The country’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the 67-year-old’s condition was unknown, but local fire officials confirmed local media reports that Abe was in heart failure when he was rushed to hospital.

Authorities have arrested one man suspected to be the gunman.

“Such an act of barbarity cannot be tolerated,” Matsuno told reporters at a media briefing.

Kyodo News and public broadcaster NHK said witnesses heard a gunshot, followed by Abe collapsing to the ground bleeding. An NHK reporter on the scene said they could hear two consecutive bangs during Abe’s speech.

NHK aired footage showing Abe holding his chest when he collapsed, with his shirt smeared with blood, as several security guards ran toward him. Reports differed over whether Abe was shot in the back, chest or neck, with some outlets reporting he had multiple injuries.

Local media said Abe was not showing vital signs, and appeared to be in cardiac arrest or heart failure.

The attack was a shock in a country that’s one of the world’s safest and with some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.