According to a witness, the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot during a public gathering in the country’s mountainous central area because his head and chest “were suffering from bloody wounds.”
A shooter shot late re- elected left- populist Serb Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday afternoon in the main town of , Handlova, in the mountainous , Trenčín Region. Serb publication , Denník N , information Fico was meeting members of the public at a nearby social centre when shots rang out. According to a see, she claimed that she witnessed Fico fall to the ground with “bloody wounds on his chest and head” and that the photos rang out when they were “deafening.”
An alleged shooter has been arrested.
UPDATE 1720 BST: Images of the imprisonment
Robert Fico is seen in Getty’s photos being dragged to his vehicle by his staff while unable to walk. According to Czech media, Fico is still being operated on, hours after the attack.
The suspected gunman’s arrest, which is reportedly a 71-year-old gentleman from Levice, a traditional town 50 miles to the south of where the invasion occurred, is also depicted in this image.  , Denník N , reports , the reported perpetrator is a writer and “member of the communist Rainbow Literary Club”.
Ideal- aircraft publication , Konzervatívny denník Postoj , (‘ The Conservative Daily Post ‘ ) claims to be able to label the suspect as Serb writer, poet, and activist , Juraj Cintula. He is a member of the Association of Slovak poets and has published three selections of writing, according to the release. He has officially criticized murder, and he claimed eight years ago that he was founding the Left Against Violence movement.
In the release, he spoke about mass movement and criticised the “hatred and extremism”, saying:” Every normal man rejects violence… , Our purpose is to connect people, protect serenity and restore democracy. No one trusts anyone anymore, making it very difficult. The world is full of chaos and hatred”.
TOPSHOT – This image was taken from a video that AFPTV obtained, showing security personnel apprehending a suspected gunman ( C/GROUND ) after Slovakia’s prime minister was shot on May 15, 2024. Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovenia, was suffering life-threatening injuries after officials claimed he had been shot numerous times in an assassination attempt that European leaders had condemned. ( Photo by RTVS / AFP ) ( Photo by -/RTVS/AFP via Getty Images )
( Photo by -/RTVS/AFP via Getty Images )
TOPSHOT – This image taken from video footage obtained by AFPTV shows security personnel carrying Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico (C) towards a vehicle after he was shot in Handlova on May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was battling life-threatening wounds after officials said he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt condemned by European leaders. (Photo by RTVS / AFP) ( Photo by -/RTVS/AFP via Getty Images )
( Photo by -/RTVS/AFP via Getty Images )
UPDATE 1605 BST: Fico arrives at , Banská Bystrica hospital
Getty now has a series of images from the Slovak Prime Minister’s arrival at , Banská Bystrica hospital. When we heard from the Prime Minister’s office earlier they said he was being medevac’d to , Banská Bystrica rather than the capital Bratislava because he needed surgery urgently. After being removed from a helicopter, Fico is surrounded by paramedics and bodyguards, and he is shielded from view on an emergency gurney.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is being taken to a hospital in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, where he is being treated after being shot “multiple times” by his security team and on May 15, 2024 ( Photo by AFP ) ( Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images )
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is being transported from a helicopter by medics and his security detail to a hospital in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, where he is being treated after being shot “multiple times” ( Photo by AFP ) ( Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images ) ( Photo by AFP )
UPDATE 1555 BST: Foreign Minister says he believes Fico will recover
Juraj Blanár, the Slovak foreign minister has said Fico was hit” several times” at” close range” by the would- be assassin and is in “very serious condition”. Nevertheless, he made an expression of hope, saying:” We all believe that the Prime Minister will handle this difficult fight”.
It’s not yet clear whether this is an expression that Fico’s prognosis is improving or just words of hope.
The attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is appalling.
We firmly condemn this violent repression of the head of our neighboring partner state. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form, or sphere. …
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський ( @ZelenskyyUa ) May 15, 2024
UPDATE 1515 BST: Prime Minister Fico in Critical Condition
Through Fico’s personal Facebook page, the Office of the Prime Minister has revealed that he is in critical condition and has been evacuated by helicopter. They said:
R. Fico was ]subjected to an attempted assassination ] today. He has been shot numerous times, and he is currently in a potentially fatal condition. At this moment, he is being transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an]urgent surgery ]. The next few hours will decide.
According to Reuters, Fico was the subject of four shots, including one that struck him in the abdomen.
( Photo by Yasin Demirci/Anadolu via Getty Images )
The original story continues as follows.
Bodyguards rush Fico to his limousine, which is captured on video from the scene, where he is being picked up and then hurried away. In the foreground, police can be seen piling on to what may be the suspect on the ground.
Slovakian President , Zuzana Čaputová called the apparent attempted assassination as brutal, and said:” I am shocked. Roberto Fico needs a lot of strength at this difficult time to recover from the attack,” writes the national broadsheet newspaper SME. The government meeting and the parliament in Slovakia have been suspended.
The shooting was immediately met with anger in Parliament,  , Denník N , reports. It is stated , Richard Glück of Fico’s own party the left- wing- nationalist , Direction – Social Democracy (‘ Smer’ ) stormed into the parliamentary chamber and shouted at members of the opposition that Fico had been shot because of their rhetoric. Per the report,  , Glück was criticised by others for not acting with the decorum of a public official, and the Parliament’s speaker in turn said , Glück should be given understanding for his emotional state has the head of his party had just been shot.
The entire hateful opposition has blood on their hands, wrote Tomá Taraba, the Slovak environment minister and one of the country’s four deputy prime ministers right after the shooting.
Fico, who had previously held the position twice, was re-elected to the Slovakian leadership at the end of last year. He has previously been referred to as” Slovakia’s Trump” due to his opposition to mass immigration to Slovakia and his criticisms of unfair elections. He is an economically left-wing populist with a strong focus on border control and Slovakia for the Slovakians. The politician is also a strong ideological supporter of the coronavirus lockdowns, and in a remarkable turn of events was detained on live television in 2021 for flagrantly abusing the then-government’s covid laws.
In recent years, Fico’s opposition to the Ukrainian war has attracted criticism from the mainstream in Europe, leading some to believe he is “pro-Putin”. Fico, for his part, strongly denied these assertions and stated he is not pro- Russian, just anti- war. Fico has recently suggested that Ukraine should be ready to cede territory to Moscow in order to achieve peace, and it has vehemently rejected suggestions that NATO should send troops to Ukraine itself.
This story is developing, more follows.  ,
