A shocking incident occurred when the Prime Minister of Slovakia was targeted in a broad daylight shooting.
According to the Slovak government on the 16th (local time), Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot by an assailant around 2:30 pm on the 15th in Handlova, on the outskirts of the capital Bratislava. He collapsed and was urgently transported to the hospital.
After presiding over a cabinet meeting at a cultural center called the House of Culture, Prime Minister Fico was shot 3-4 times in the abdomen and elsewhere by an assailant while meeting with supporters.
After the attack, Prime Minister Fico was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Banska Bystrica and underwent emergency surgery. Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba of Slovakia said, “The surgery went well. He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment,” providing an update on Fico’s condition.
The suspect who shot the Prime Minister was immediately apprehended at the scene by the police, and an investigation is currently underway to determine the motive behind the crime.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova expressed her shock, saying, “I hope he gains strength to recover from his injuries. A physical attack on the Prime Minister is an attack on an individual and an attack on democracy.”
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia also stated, “There was an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Fico after a government meeting,” defining the incident as an assassination attempt. Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said it was “clearly politically motivated”.
Prime Minister Fico served three terms as prime minister, first from 2006-2010 and then in consecutive terms from 2012-2018. He returned to the Prime Minister’s office in the general election held last October, backed by a pro-Russian public opinion opposing support for Ukraine.
Since then, protests opposing the government’s policies have been held weekly in Bratislava. In particular, the Slovak opposition has claimed that the government led by Prime Minister Fico has taken control of the public media, and protests condemning the government have been held for several weeks.
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