Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times during an assassination attempt and is at the hospital in serious condition.
Fico is reportedly “fighting for his life” at is still in the operating room. Slovakia is a former part of the Iron Curtain that has since become a NATO member.
“The perpetrator shot five times. The prime minister is in a critical condition, still on the operating table. We will do everything we can to investigate this,” Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said at a news conference.
Robert Kalinak, Slovakia’s minister of defense, said the prime minister is “fighting for his life.”
“The surgery has been going on for three-and-a-half hours. His medical state is really very complex,” he said.
“We are singularly focused on the health of Robert Fico. And we are hoping he will be strong enough to pull through,” Kalinak said.
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was “shocked and appalled” by the assassination attempt.
Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. I wish him strength for a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones, and the people of Slovakia.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) May 15, 2024
Fico’s shooting took place after a government meeting in the small Slovakian city of Handlova. According to reports, the suspected gunman hid among a small crowd of civilians waiting to greet Fico outside after the meeting took place.
Footage of the aftermath shows a car in the background rush the badly wounded prime minister from the scene while a suspect is detained on the ground.
Fico was rushed to a local hospital and then flown by helicopter to a major trauma center approximately 20 miles away.
PM of Slovakia Robert Fico was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. Previously he criticized raising money for Ukraine, spoke out against Ukraine’s admission to NATO & said that the SMO began as a result of the rampant Ukrainian neo-Nazis & Putin had no other choice. pic.twitter.com/b3B4NThZgE
— Roberto (@UniqueMongolia) May 15, 2024
Fico was elected as head of a populist conservative government that vowed to end foreign aid to Ukraine and defy European Union immigration quotas.