Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in critical condition after being wounded in a shooting following a political event on Wednesday (May 15), according to multiple sources.
A post on his official Facebook page described the incident as an “assassination attempt” and said Fico had been “shot multiple times and is currently in danger of dying”.
Officials also said in the release that he was airlifted to a hospital in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia — which is about 20 miles from the area — for quick treatment.
They ended the post by noting that “in the next few hours they will decide” on his fate.
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The incident happened during an extraordinary meeting of the government in Handlova, Slovakia, reports CNN. The suspected attacker was among the crowd on the street waiting to greet the prime minister outside where the meeting took place, according to the media outlet.
After the shooting, Fico was seen being moved by staff into a car that immediately sped away, according to CNN, which reviewed the footage.
Slovak Labor Minister Erik Tomáš told the newspaper that no one else was injured in the attack.
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After the news, Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová said at a press conference for ABC News: “A physical attack on the prime minister is first and foremost an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. Any violence is unacceptable. The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful actions. Please, let’s stop it.”
She also announced, according to CNN, that the suspected attacker has been detained by police and that law enforcement agencies will release more information soon.
Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok wrote on Facebook that “Slovakia is experiencing the worst day of its democracy because it promised that the situation will be urgently investigated.
“For the first time in the 31 years of our democratic sovereign republic, it happened that someone decided to express a political opinion not in elections, but with a weapon on the street,” he said.
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The news also drew reactions from several world leaders. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg published on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Shocked and horrified by the shooting of Prime Minister Roberto Fico. I wish him the strength for a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones and the people of Slovakia.”
Stoltenberg’s sentiments are shared by the President of Estonia Kaja Kallas who wrote on X: “Deeply shocked by the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. An attack on an elected leader is also an attack on the very idea of democracy. I wish him a full and speedy recovery.”
In 1999, Fico founded the leftist party Smjer — Social Democracy, also known as Smer. Under this organization, he was the prime minister of Slovakia three times, the first time from 2006 to 2010, and then from 2012 to 2018. He assumed this position most recently in October 2023.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education