The Slovakian prime minister is in an ‘extraordinarily serious’ condition ‘fighting for his life’ after a ‘politically motivated’ assassination attempt, government officials have confirmed.
Robert Fico, 59, was shot five times by a gunman while he greeted supporters in Handlova, north-east of Bratislava, following a Slovak government meeting.
In footage published by RTV Prievidza the gunman, who is reportedly 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, from Levice, was waiting at a barrier for the PM to approach before pulling out the weapon.
Despite being flanked by five security guards, Cintula manages to fire off five shots at point blank range before being taken down by the PMs detail.
In the latest development the country’s interior minister Matus Sutaj Estok suggested during a press conference outside the hospital treating Fico that preliminary information ‘clearly’ points to a ‘political motivation’.
While the country’s defence minister, Robert Kalinak added there is ‘no good news at the moment’.
And we now need to put our trust ‘in the hands of the medical specialists’, as he appealed to the public to ‘pray’ for Fico’s recovery.
In videos published online Fico can be seen stumbling backwards after the first shot, before tripping over a bench behind him and falling to the ground, as armed security piles in from all sides.
Onlookers can be seen jumping back in horror at what they have just witnessed.
Before a black car speeds around a corner and the prime minister’s slumped body is bundled into the back of the vehicle, Fico was eventually airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
Fico was re-elected for the fourth time last October and has since supported a more pro-Russia position, including most recently by pledging to stop military support for Ukraine.
He also ruffled feathers in the UK, when he said Britain must ‘suffer’ for Brexit.