The gunman who allegedly shot former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was a member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force, also known as the Japanese Navy.
Suspected shooter Tetsuya Yamagami being detained by police (India Today photo)
Former Japanese Abe Shinzo was shot in the chest while making a speech at an election campaign in Nara, Japan on Friday. Shortly after he was shot, police captured 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami as a suspect in the case. Police also retrieved a gun from where Abe was shot at.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Abe was in a critical condition and doctors are working hard to save him.
Here’s all we know about the suspect:
Fuji TV reported that Yamagami, a resident of Nara, is a former member of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, also known as the Japanese Navy. He is also said to have fashioned the gun he used to shoot Abe by hand.
Yamagami told investigators that he was unhappy with Abe and targeted the former prime minister with the intention of killing him, said a report by Japanese news agency NHK. However, he said the grudge he has against Abe is not based on political beliefs.
A video released by NHK, shows Yamagami allegedly hanging around the place where Abe was slated to campaign on Friday. He is dressed in a grey T-shirt, wearing spectacles, and carrying a black messenger bag.
NHKhttps://t.co/Jli9oQDP43#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/XOKQsyy3Fe
— NHK (@nhk_news) July 8, 2022
Japan Times reported that 67-year-old Abe was delivering an election campaign speech on a street in Nara around 11:30 am when he was attacked from behind by an unidentified man with a shotgun. He was struck by a bullet in the chest.
An NHK reporter who was at the scene said they heard what sounded like a gun going off twice, after which Abe collapsed, bleeding.
Yamagami was overpowered by the police and detained while he was making an attempt to escape the site. The gun used in the attack was also recovered.
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