Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital. Reports on TA3, a Slovakian TV station, said that Fico, 59, was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometres northeast of the capital, where the leader was meeting with supporters. A suspect has been detained, it said. Police sealed off the scene.
VIDEO: Slovak PM Robert Fico shot in assassination attempt
Emergency services said a helicopter had been sent for a 59-year-old man in Handlova after receiving information that he had been shot. Fico was conscious when he was taken to a hospital in the town of Handlova and was treated for bullet wounds, a hospital spokesperson told Reuters by email.
A message posted to Fico's Facebook account said that the leader "has been shot multiple times and is currently in life-threatening condition. At this moment he is transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute procedure. The next few hours will decide.”
The shooting in Slovakia comes three weeks ahead of crucial European Parliament elections, in which populist and hard-right parties in the 27-nation bloc appear poised to make gains.
Deputy speaker of parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the incident during a session of Parliament and adjourned it until further notice, the Slovak TASR news agency said. President Zuzana Caputova condemned “a brutal and ruthless” attack on the premier.
“I’m shocked,” Caputova said. “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.”
(With inputs from agency)
