[developing live feed] Slovak PM in hospital after being shot in assassination attempt
[developing live feed] Slovak PM in hospital after being shot in assassination attempt
Robert Fico was shot in front of a building in the central Slovak town of Handlova. His alleged assailant detained.
We've just received reports that the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Rico has been taken to hospital after being shot. This is a developing news story, but here's everything we know so far:
Slovak PM Robert Fico was shot and taken to hospital after a cabinet meeting. The alleged assailant was detained by police, local media reports
It not known what condition the prime minister is currently in
The shooting took place in Handlova, about 180km north east of the capital of Bratislava
Local journalists reported hearing several shots fired
Stay with us as we continue to cover this breaking news story.
edit: Initial information about the suspect has been released-
Police detained the suspect after Fico was shot in the central town of Handlova
The BBC's local correspondent, Rob Cameron, says we're hearing the attacker is 71 years old from a village in central Slovakia
The pistol the shots were fired from was reportedly legally held
The attacker's motive is not yet known
A video shows civilians and guards detaining the suspect outside the cultural centre in Handlova The man, wearing a pale blue shirt, was then seen sitting on the ground, hands tied behind his back
While I can't say I feel bad, it is a little interesting that one of the more vocal opponents to Ukraine got shot while his country borders Ukraine and they're openly desperate now that the US is backing off
But based on his views and actions there are a lot of people who probably want to shoot him
It's going to be interesting if this has some kind of Ukraine connection instead of it being a domestic thing. I could see it really galvanising opposition to the war.
I'd think they wouldn't be that stupid, but so many of them can't help but have obviously fascist iconography in full camera view, so...
None of the articles mentions anything about the shooter.
They probably won't for a while, they typically don't (unless you're a black male in the US)
I'm purely speculating, since it really seems like western press has taken to simply labeling him pro-Russia
Slovak PM Robert Fico was shot and taken to hospital after a cabinet meeting.
Damn he still went to the cabinet meeting??
This is why opposing NATO is extremely rare in the region. This is what happens to you when you oppose them.
Their description of him:
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico returned to power after elections last September, at the head of a populist-nationalist coalition.
He leads the populist left-wing Smer-SSD party and won the vote last October with pledges to halt military aid to Ukraine, but denied being pro-Russian.
Fico was forced to step down as prime minister following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018.
"If Smer enters government, we will not send a single round of ammunition to Ukraine," Fico told supporters during his campaign.
This, as well as his pledge to resist Western sanctions on Russia, caused some onlookers to compare Fico to Hungary's populist right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He was transported by air ambulance so it seems like a real doohickey of a situation:
Helicopter dispatched to shooting incident
Slovak's emergency services dispatched a helicopter to a 59-year-old man in Handlova after receiving information that he was shot, it posted on social media.
"The action is still under way", the emergency service says.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, 59, was initially bundled into a car by his security team, and local reports say he was then airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
edit: Initial report of where he was shot-
What do we know about Fico's condition?
Unconfirmed reports by eyewitnesses say Fico was shot in the arms, legs and stomach - but we have not been able to verify this.
His bodyguards were seen helping him to a car soon after the shooting.
Fico's staff have since said he was airlifted to a nearby hospital as the transfer to the capital Bratislava would take too long and his condition is understood to be critical.
Legs and abdomen are both catastrophic bleed sites. Likewise if he was hit in the shoulder.
The papers here say he was shot in the chest and stomach and has life threatening injuries. The helicopter apparently couldn’t take him to the hospital they planned to because it was too far away.
cuts both ways
modus operandi