The Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico, is said to be out of danger after he was shot multiple times in an attempted assassination on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister had been meeting supporters in the small town of Handlová when he was hit at point blank range by three bullets.
Bodyguards pounced on the suspect, unofficially named as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, as Fico was carried into a government limousine, which sped away before he was airlifted to hospital in ‘critical condition’.
Defense Minister Robert Kalinak told a press conference that the prime minister had spent several hours in surgery "fighting for his life."
Later, deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba told the BBC he thought Fico would survive.
Taraba said: “I guess in the end he will survive. He’s not in a life threatening situation at this moment.”
The son of the man suspected of carrying out the assassination attempt told the Slovak news site Aktuality that he had “no idea” why his father carried out the attack.
He added that the firearm used in the attack was legal, and that his father was not receiving psychiatric treatment.
Fico, who is serving his third stint as Slovakia’s prime minister, has caused controversy both at home and abroad after being accused of abandoning the country’s pro-western course.
Thousands have protested against his policies, which include opposing immigration, same-sex marriages and, during the pandemic, facemasks, vaccinations, and lockdown.
He is also pro-Vladimir Putin and against supporting Ukraine.
Bodyguards pounced on the suspect, unofficially named as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, as Fico was carried into a government limousine, which sped away before he was airlifted to hospital in ‘critical condition’.
Defense Minister Robert Kalinak told a press conference that the prime minister had spent several hours in surgery "fighting for his life."
Later, deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba told the BBC he thought Fico would survive.
Taraba said: “I guess in the end he will survive. He’s not in a life threatening situation at this moment.”
But doubts remain over his chances of survival, with Slovakian media citing medical sources as saying that his life is still in danger.Better quality footage of Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico being shot pic.twitter.com/1DUu22XiAD
— Faytuks News (@Faytuks) May 15, 2024
The son of the man suspected of carrying out the assassination attempt told the Slovak news site Aktuality that he had “no idea” why his father carried out the attack.
He added that the firearm used in the attack was legal, and that his father was not receiving psychiatric treatment.
Fico, who is serving his third stint as Slovakia’s prime minister, has caused controversy both at home and abroad after being accused of abandoning the country’s pro-western course.
Thousands have protested against his policies, which include opposing immigration, same-sex marriages and, during the pandemic, facemasks, vaccinations, and lockdown.
He is also pro-Vladimir Putin and against supporting Ukraine.
Source: AP/BBC/Aktuality.sk
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