Prime Minister Shot in Broad Daylight

(NationRise.com) – Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot five times on May 14 at a cultural center in the Slovak city of Handlova by a gunman whom authorities identified as a 71-year-old writer. The political leader was immediately taken to a hospital nearby, with journalists saying he was currently in critical condition.

The assassination attempt took place at the end of a government meeting when a small crowd waited for the prime minister to greet them. Footage of the moment showed Fico interacting with the group of people when the gunman suddenly started to shoot, with the political leader’s bodyguards throwing themselves against the writer and getting Fico into a vehicle.

Since his rise to power, Fico has been considered one of the most skillful politicians in the European country, as he has shown the ability to reinvent himself on numerous occasions. Some political analysts have also considered him a controversial politician as he recently refused to keep sending military aid to Ukraine in its resistance war against Russia. He even said in a televised speech that he would prefer talking with the Kremlin as he trusts in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness for a peace deal that could end the armed conflict between the two nations.

In a televised speech, Slovakia’s Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok and the Minister of Defense Robert Kalinak said that the assassination attempt that Fico suffered was “politically motivated.” Sutaj Estok even claimed that intelligence officials concluded that the gunman decided to kill the Prime Minister right after winning the presidential election.

In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba said that while Fico is currently in critical condition after the five shots he received, he’s confident that the prime minister will survive. Following the statement’s release, Taraba said during an interview with the BBC that it’s “a miracle” that Fico is still alive as he received one of the bullets directly to his stomach and another one to his joints.