Slovakia Prime Minister shot: Pro-Putin leader Robert Fico fighting for life after assassination attempt
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was on Wednesday shot in the abdomen and hospitalised after a cabinet meeting in the central town of Handlova, local media said.
The politician, 59, was reportedly shot multiple times with at least one bullet hitting him in the stomach.
Dramatic footage showed Fico being carried and then bungled into a car, flanked by his bodyguards, and driven away at speed, The Sun reports.
The Dennik N daily, whose reporter saw the premier being lifted into a car by security guards, reported that the suspected gunman had been detained by police.
Mr Fico’s injuries are said to be life-threatening. He has received treatment at a hospital in the town of Handlova and is being taken to the capital Bratislava, the hospital director told AFP on Wednesday.
“Mr. Fico was brought into our hospital and he was treated at our vascular surgery clinic,” hospital director Marta Eckhardtova said, adding: “The prime minister was later transported from our hospital, he is on his way to Bratislava”.
A witness told news outlet Dennik N that she heard three to four shots and saw Fico fall to the ground with wounds to his head and chest.
The motive behind the shooting is not yet known.The suspect is reportedly a 71-year-old Slovakian from the town of Lavice.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova condemned the “brutal and reckless” attack on Mr Fico.
“I am shocked. I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack,” she said in a statement.
More to come.
