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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Shot in Assassination Attempt
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Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt on Wednesday, May 15. His condition remained serious by Thursday morning. The gunman – a 71-year-old poet – admitted that he carried out the assassination attempt for political reasons. The tragic incident caused shock and outrage not only in Slovakia. Leaders of many countries sent messages of sympathy and support to Bratislava. Meanwhile, experts do not rule out that the assassination attempt on Robert Fico, which took place shortly before the June elections to the European Parliament, will unite the electorate of the prime minister’s party.
After a meeting of the Slovak government, held in the town of Handlová, 190 kilometers from Bratislava, Prime Minister Robert Fico went outside and decided to talk to the people. Someone in the crowd called out to him. And then shots rang out.
Images of the guards carrying the wounded Robert Fico to the car, went around all the world’s media. There were five shots, at least three of them hitting the politician.
Robert Fico was flown by helicopter to the nearby town of Banská Bystrica for emergency surgery.
“He suffered multiple injuries and is currently in a life-threatening condition. At the moment he is being transported by helicopter to Banská Bystrica, as it would take too long to get him to Bratislava due to the need for emergency surgery. Everything will be resolved in the next few hours,” said the Prime Minister’s associates on the official page of Robert Fico in one of the social networks about an hour after the assassination attempt.
Meanwhile, the shooter of the prime minister was detained at the scene of the crime. He turned out to be a 71-year-old man named Juraj Cintula. As local media found out, he was a poet and published several poetry…
