Assassination of Former Prime Minister Abe How it Happened

Last Updated on 07/09/2022 by てんしょく飯

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot in front of a train station in Nara City at around 11:30 a.m. on July 8. The hospital in Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, where he was taken, announced that he was confirmed dead shortly after 5:00 p.m.

He was in the midst of giving a speech in support of the Upper House election to be held on July 10. The suspect allegedly approached him from behind and fired what appeared to be a homemade gun.

The following is a recap of the incident.

At an intersection about 50 meters from the north exit of Kintetsu Yamato Saidaiji Station in Nara City, there is a corner surrounded by guardrails where former Prime Minister Abe was giving a speech in support of Kei Sato, an incumbent member of the LDP House of Councilors.

The photo above shows Abe ascending to the platform while receiving applause from LDP officials. He does not appear to have noticed the man in the background. The man, who appears to be young, is dressed casually and wears a black bag slung diagonally across his body.

A few minutes after Mr. Abe’s speech begins, this man can be seen in the local footage starting to move forward. Around 11:30 a.m., two bursts of sound are heard, and Mr. Abe falls to the ground. He is bleeding, which can be seen in photos of the scene.

While the people present were confused and laying low, SPs in suits and others seized the man a short distance away. The man was not trying to escape. The police placed the man in a police vehicle and took him away.

An ambulance transported Mr. Abe to the hospital after doctors from surrounding medical facilities and first responders gave him first aid. He was also taken by a doctor’s helicopter to Nara Medical University Hospital. According to news reports, immediately after being shot, Mr. Abe was able to speak, but soon lost consciousness.

By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was in cardiopulmonary arrest. Doctors attempted to resuscitate him after repeated blood transfusions and hemostatic surgery, but he was pronounced dead at 5:03 pm.

According to the doctor in charge, he had two bullet wounds on his neck. The wounds reached his heart and there was a large hole in his heart. He underwent surgery to stop the bleeding, but he was losing a lot of blood, and the cause of death was exsanguination. No bullet was found in his body during the surgery.

According to news reports, Nara Prefectural Police announced the results of Abe’s autopsy on the morning of July 9. The fatal wound was caused by a single bullet that entered his left upper arm and nicked arteries under his right and left clavicles, according to the report.

■”Handmade” Weapons

According to witnesses to the incident, the man who was seized was holding what appeared to be a large gun and fired twice from behind Mr. Abe.

Police seized this handmade gun at the scene. In Japan, the purchase of guns is severely restricted by the Firearms Law.

The Nara Prefectural Police announced the name of the suspect as Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a resident of Nara City. He is a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

He told interrogators that he did not have a grudge against former Prime Minister Abe’s political beliefs and that he committed the crime because he had a grudge against a specific group and thought that the group was connected to former Prime Minister Abe.

Later that evening, the Nara Prefectural Police raided the suspect’s apartment in Nara City. Riot police and an explosive disposal vehicle were dispatched. At a little after 9:30 p.m., police officers called for the residents to evacuate after explosives were found at the suspect’s house. Several hand-made guns and explosives were found at the suspect’s house.

It is not clear how the suspect knew that Mr. Abe was coming to the area to make a speech in support of him. According to the Nara Prefectural Federation of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe’s speech was decided on the evening of the 7th, the day before the event, and had not been announced to the general public. According to media reports, the suspect stated that he learned of Mr. Abe’s speech from the website.