WATCH | SLOVAKIA PRIME MINISTER ROBERT FICO WOUNDED IN ‘BRUTAL AND RUTHLESS’ ATTACK

Wed 15 May 2024:

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has been wounded in a shooting and taken to hospital.

Fico was hit in the stomach after four shots were fired outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova on Wednesday afternoon, Slovakian media reported.

Police sealed off the scene, and Fico was taken to a hospital in Banska Bystrica.

A suspect has been detained, according to the Dennik N news outlet and TA3, a Slovakian TV station.

WATCH | Slovakia PM Robert Fico wounded in ‘brutal and ruthless’ attackhttps://t.co/eBCrSmoV5c pic.twitter.com/BqoU1qvllZ

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 15, 2024

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 prime minister.

“I’m shocked,” Caputova said. “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.”

Fico, a third-time premier, and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party, won Slovakia’s September 30 parliamentary elections, staging a political comeback after campaigning on a pro-Russian and anti-American message.

Critics worried Slovakia under Fico would abandon the country’s pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies.

Wednesday’s shooting 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.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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