Fifty-nine-year-old Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday has been reported to be suffering from life-threatening injuries when he was shot and wounded in an attempted assassination.
According to Reuters, the government office confirmed this development.
The prime minister was immediately rushed to a hospital in the central city of Handlova after holding a government meeting there and was transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica for urgent treatment.
Witnesses stated that they heard several shots fired after the meeting in Handlova northeast of the capital, Bratislava.
The witness stated that police had, however, detained a man, and security officials pushed someone into a car and drove off
“An assassination (attempt) on Prime Minister Robert Fico was carried out today at the government’s off-site meeting in Handlova,”
“At the moment, he is being transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica because it would take too long to Bratislava given the necessity of an acute intervention,” the government office said.
Emergency Services said they had received information about a man being shot in Handlova shortly after 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT) and sent an emergency helicopter to a 59-year-old patient.
