Attempted assassination of Robert Fico

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Attempted assassination of Robert Fico
File:Robert Fico, April 2024.jpg
Fico in 2024
Location Handlová, Slovakia
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Date 15 May 2024 (2024-05-15)
Around 14:50 CEST (UTC+2)
Target Robert Fico
Attack type
 Shooting
Weapons Revolver
Injured Robert Fico
Motive Unknown

On 15 May 2024, Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was critically injured in a shooting in Handlová, Slovakia, in front of the town's House of Culture after a government meeting,[1][2][3] and was subsequently taken to hospital.[4] A suspect was detained by police at the scene.[2] Fico is reportedly in a life-threatening condition.[5][4][6]

Shooting

The shooting occurred outside the House of Culture, a cultural centre in Handlová, which had hosted a government discussion. Fico was giving a speech to a crowd at the time of the shooting. According to journalists, several sounds of gunfire were heard and Fico collapsed to the ground.[7] The alleged assailant was captured by several people and police cordoned off the area.[8][9] Three other ministers were escorted away from the scene.[10]

File:Handlová - panoramio.jpg
Robert Fico was shot in the town of Handlová.

Fico was carried into a car by medical personnel[11] and taken to Handlová Hospital before being airlifted to F.D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banská Bystrica. An interior ministry official said Fico was conscious while being transported.[12] Five shots were fired, with one shot striking Fico in his abdomen and others striking his head and chest,[9][13][14] leaving him in a life-threatening condition.[10][15][16] According to deputy prime minister Tomáš Taraba, he is expected to recover.[17]

Suspect

A 71-year-old man was immediately detained by Fico's security detail.[18][19] According to multiple Slovak media outlets, the suspect is from Levice and possessed the firearm legally in connection with his private security job. He had authored three poetry books and founded a "Movement Against Violence".[20][21][22] The motive behind the attack is still not fully known, but is being investigated as politically motivated.[23] Slovakia's Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok stated to multiple media outlets that preliminary investigations revealed the gunman had a political motivation for the assassination.[1]

Response

Deputy Speaker of the National Council Ľuboš Blaha confirmed the shooting during a legislative session which was later suspended[13] and blamed political opposition and liberal media.[24] The interior ministry described it as an "assassination attempt".[25] Zuzana Čaputová, Slovakia's president, called the shooting "brutal and ruthless", and expressed shock for the attack and solidarity with Fico.[9] Similar sentiments were expressed by Michal Šimečka, leader of the opposition party Progressive Slovakia.[26]

Andrej Danko, deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and leader of the nationalist Slovak National Party, blamed the political opposition and media for the attack and said the country was heading for "political war".[24][27]

Regional and global leaders and international organisations condemned the attack and expressed their support for Fico and the people of Slovakia.[28]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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