Politically motivated "lone wolf" charged with shooting Slovak PM Fico
May 16, 2024
Bratislava [Slovakia], May 16 : A politically motivated "lone wolf," has been charged in the assassination attempt of the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, CNN reported citing the country's interior minister on Thursday.
Following five close-range shots and surgery, Fico's health is stable but serious, according to his deputy on Thursday.
The attempted murder stunned the nation in central Europe and provoked outrage around the world. Attacks on the 59-year-old populist leader followed an off-site government meeting in the town of Handlova on Wednesday, according to CNN.
The leader came back to power last year, and his contentious measures have prompted protests in recent weeks.
As the prime minister walked up to a small group of people who were expecting him, a possible shooter in the crowd jumped forward and opened fire on him five times from the other side of a security screen.
Fico was "stabilised but in a very serious condition," according to hospital director Miriam Lapunikova on Thursday, and he would stay in the intensive care unit.
She further mentioned that the prime minister was operated on by two surgical teams at the hospital, according to CNN.
On Thursday morning, the country's Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak said Fico's condition "has been stabilized overnight, more steps are being taken to better his health. The situation is really serious."
The assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico has sent shockwaves throughout Slovakia.
The incident occurred following an off-site government meeting in the central Slovak town of Handlova.
The suspected gunman, among a small crowd awaiting the Prime Minister outside the cultural centre where the meeting took place, reportedly targeted Fico. Footage from the scene captured the Prime Minister being rushed into a vehicle by his staff before being taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a major trauma centre in Banska Bystrica.
Fortunately, no other injuries were reported in the attack.
