Slovakia PM shot in attempted assassination
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STORY: :: Graphic Warning
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot in an attempted assassination on Wednesday.
Fico was in the central town of Handlova for a government meeting and was shaking hands with a crowd of people...
when a man near a barricade pulled out a gun and fired.
:: RTV PRIEVIDZA
Slovak media said the shooter was a 71-year-old man, though the motive was initially unclear.
The country’s interior minister said it was “politically motivated.”
The 59-year-old Fico was rushed to a local hospital and then transported by helicopter to a regional capital for urgent treatment.
Fico is no longer in life-threatening condition, according to a government minister.
Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova said she was “shocked” by the shooting, saying it was (quote) “an attack on democracy.”
The leftist prime minister returned to his role last October for the fourth time.
He has drawn criticism for taking a more pro-Russian stance in the Ukraine war, as well as initiating reforms of criminal law and the media, which have raised concerns over weakening the rule of law.
The shooting has drawn international condemnation from U.S. President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other European leaders.
